Of Professors and Prophecies
by EchoPatronus3
Summary: Lily is accepted as Charms professor at Hogwarts, as suggested by Dumbledore, and leaves James and a one-year old Harry in their Fidelius charmed home in Godric's Hollow. While at Hogwarts she faces problems of her past, problems of her present, and will soon discover that none of them could possibly be worse than the problems of her future. AU. Rated K for now, but will go up.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I am not J.K. Rowling. Chances are neither do you, so let's wallow in self-pity together while expressing ourselves through fanfiction, okay? Okay.**

**Hello there! I have been reading fanfiction for over a year now and am hopelessly addicted, so I thought it was time to leave the safety of being a strictly a reader and venture into actually writing some of my own. So, obviously this is my first fanfic and I have absolutely no idea how this will go. I am planning on this being a longer story, but it may just be a one-shot I'm not sure. (The nerves about posting this are so REAL, guys!) So, I hope you enjoy this story and let me know if I should continue or review and tell me what you think. I also will accept any review no matter how brutal. This is supposed to be more of a learning process for me than an enjoyable thing for you (; Anyways, on with the story!**

Of Professors and Prophecies

Chapter 1

"Lily! Post is here!" James yelled as he was trying to feed a rather fussy Harry some cereal.

Harry had just one a few weeks ago and was determined to be as stubborn as he could to his already worn out parents. Both James and Harry turned their heads simultaneously to see Lily bound in the room with an air of excitement.

"Anything for me?" she said.

"I don't know. You'll just have to loo-", but before he could finish his sentence, Lily had already attacked the mail till finally she raised one letter in particular up to her face. A wide grin broke out on both of their faces and James knew exactly what she had gotten. She was given the OK from Dumbledore to apply for a position at Hogwarts (particularly Charms professor) and was waiting for a confirmation letter.

"Should I open it?" Lily said.

"No, I think we should wait for _Harry's_ Hogwarts letter to arrive. Of bloody course you should open it!" James replied with his typical over use of sarcasm.

Lily gave him a playful glare for his unnecessary rudeness and cursing in front of Harry, but before she had the chance to think about opening the letter, James's well-timed Maruauder's spirit kicked in and he decided to have a little with it. He had been stuck in this house for so long with little excitement, so he decided to make some mischief for himself. He quickly grabbed the letter out of Lily's hands and tore out of the kitchen and out into the hallway. Lily couldn't believe what he had just done and was momentarily shocked, but soon followed suit and chased him through the house.

"JAMES POTTER! Give it back right now!" Lily wasn't about to just let him open _her_ letter.

She took after him leaving Harry sitting in his highchair laughing and giggling at his parent's behavior. Lily ran down the hall and found him standing by the mantel in the living room with his arm fully extended in the air and her letter at the very top. She tried to tackle him with little success and resorted to jumping up and down trying to reach for it. However, James was a good 5 inches taller than her, so he simply held it out of her reach. With a smug grin on his face he began reading in his best "Lily" voice:

_Dear Mrs. Lily Potter, _

"Ah, what a lovely name." James added with a smirk. Lily just rolled her eyes at her husband's opinion.

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted as Charms professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

That's all the farther he got before he turned around and was faced with the tip of Lily's wand (a position he had been in many times before and always had the same painful consequence).

"Mr. Potter I advise you to give me my letter or I will have no choice, but to hex you into oblivion." Lily said with the most serious tone that she could muster.

"Alright, alright, I suppose _you_ should get to read it too." Said James in a sarcastic tone.

He then gave in as tired out Lily lowered her wand and took the letter from him. He went to go clean up Harry, but not before bending down and giving her a quick kiss on the lips and whispering "Congratulations, professor."

Lily smirked and sat down with a huff, finally having the chance to read the letter in its entirety. She was so excited to finally have a career and to have the chance to go back to Hogwarts. The small family of three had been held up in their cottage for almost a year and she was ready to have some long forgotten freedom. Term started in a week and for her safety Dumbledore had all her supplies brought to the castle in advance and would have her floo in directly to his office. Dumbledore had set enchantments on both the Potter's and his floos so that they could not be monitored by anyone. The fact that they would have her teach would be extremely risky to everyone involved, but Hogwarts was short a teacher and Dumbledore also suggested that it would be tactful that Lily and James weren't living in the same place all the time. It was a safe way to ensure that if either got attacked, Harry would not be left completely parentless. Lily wasn't very fond of that idea, but James had agreed with Dumbledore that it would be a good plan.

Lily was pulled out of her thoughts about Hogwarts as James walked into the living room and set Harry on the floor with some of his toys. He then sat down next to Lily and his arm lazily around her shoulders.

"So you're really going, huh?"

"Well of course I am, it's a huge opportunity for me." She said as she looked down and fiddled with a string on her shirt. "Why? Are you worried?" Lily didn't know why she felt the need to ask, she could tell just by looking at him that he was worried.

"No…well yes..but, look Lil, we're in the middle of war and we are not the most liked witch and wizard around. I just want to make sure that you're going to be safe at Hogwarts. You might end up teaching some Death Eater's kids and-"

She cut him off before he could finish. "James, Hogwarts is the safest place next to a Fidelius charmed cottage. Not to mention Dumbledore will be there too. I don't think Voldemort would put up a fight with Dumbledore just to get a chance to kill me."

"I wouldn't put it past him…When are you leaving?" James said softly.

"The letter said tomorrow afternoon would be the best time. He wants me there early to meet the other teachers and get my lesson plans together." Lily said as she looked over at Harry. She knew she would miss him and James so much, but she needed this. James knew she needed this too. He knew that with marrying a strong headed Gryffindor came the fact that she could never live with restrictions. He couldn't either, but he always put her needs before his.

James took a deep breathe in and said "Well, Harry, I guess we can turn this place into a real man cave now that your mum is leaving. No bed times, no cleaning, and Padfoot can stay even after he's had too much to drink!" Lily just laughed and leaned into James's chest.

* * *

After Harry went to bed that evening, Lily and James stayed up discussing what things are going to be like at Hogwarts for her. How she was going to deal with nervous first-years and cheeky seventh-years or how she'd have to deal with being colleagues with most of her former teachers. They laughed, reminisced, and as Lily went to bed that night she thought that at this exact moment, everything was exactly as she wanted it to be.

* * *

**So there it is! This is to really set up what's going to happen later on in the story, so I apologize for how quickly things moved, but I want to get to some plot. In regards to the K+ rating, it's very likely to go up as the story progresses. Also, as the pairing suggest this WILL turn into a Sev/Lily story, so if that's not your thing then I wouldn't recommend this for you (However, there will be no James bashing). Thanks for reading and please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you all so much for the reviews and follows and favorites and uhgg! I can't express how grateful I am! Oh, wait, yes I can! I can put up a new chapter! Here is chapter 2 and I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Once again, not JK Rowling, but maybe tomorrow.**

Chapter 2

The next morning Lily awoke to the smell of pancakes and looked to her left to the see the very tousled, now vacant spot where James slept. To her right, next to the bedroom door, was her personal trunk fully packed and ready to be flooed in with her to Dumbledore's office. She could hardly believe that today was the day she would be going back to Hogwarts. She climbed out of bed and down the hall to Harry's room to see that James had already woken him up too. When she finally reached the kitchen both Harry and James were there along with a stack of James's pancakes (James's cooking skills were always lacking, but if he could cook one thing for sure, it was pancakes). The morning passed surprisingly peacefully considering the fact that Lily's nerves were making her too giggly and James's anxiety was making him too serious, but soon noon arrived and Lily said her goodbyes to her husband and son. She glanced back at her two boys waving at her from the living room as the green flames engulfed her.

Lily stepped out of the fireplace and was greeted with the smell of old parchment and sherbet lemons, quite the nostalgic smell.

"Welcome, Lily! Or should I say, Professor Potter?"

"Hello, Albus! It's so great to see you!" Lily said as Dumbledore embraced her.

"How have James and Harry been? I know it's a bit of a stretch to ask considering you guys have been held up in Godics's Hollow lately, but then again, it would be rude of me not to ask." Albus said with smile and a twinkle in his blue eyes.

"Of course, sir. They've been great even in this stressful time." Lily replied.

"Oh, well that's fantastic to hear my dear, but please, sit down. I have a few things to inform you about before you head to your room to unpack." Dumbledore said with welcoming warmth. Lily nodded and sat down, anxious to see her classroom and the rest of the castle that she had missed so much

"So, as you know we have a week before term starts, so that should be enough time to get your first couple weeks of lesson plans in and if you need any help with that, all of your fellow teachers, including me, would be more than assist you. I assume that you remember where the Charms classroom is?"

Lily nodded with a smile on her face. "Well, your personal chambers are through a door to the left of the classroom and down a small corridor. I shall let you go freshen up, unpack, and relax." Dumbledore said.

"Thank you very much, Professor! I'm so glad to be here" Lily said with excitement clearly conveyed in her voice.

"Well, we are glad to have you!"

Lily gathered up her things in a hurry, so excited she didn't even think to use a levitating spell and headed for the door.

"Oh, and Lily?"

"Yes, Albus?"

"There is a mandatory staff meeting in the great hall in about an hour. It'll be a great time for you catch up with your colleagues, some of which may be very anxious to see you."

"Definitely! See you then professor!"

* * *

As Lily went down the corridors to her classroom and chambers she couldn't help but ponder over Albus's words. Who would be anxious to see her? She sees most of them at Order meetings , or at least she _did_ until she was forced into hiding, but still? When she reached her classroom she set her stuff down and looked around. A smile crept across her face and she couldn't help but feel sheer content and anticipation for the start of the new school year. Lily went to her chambers and looked around. They were small, but comfortable with one bedroom, bathroom, a sitting room, and a simple kitchen. She realized that she was still wearing jeans and a long sleeved shirt, muggle attire, and thought it would probably be better to attend the staff meeting dressed like a member of the staff. She changed into a set of her teaching robes and thought she actually looked quite professional. Her hair was in loose curls and the vibrant red stood out against the black of the robes. With a quick glance at the clock, she decided to head down to the great hall for the meeting.

* * *

Down in the dungeons a knock on the door resounded through the potions classroom interrupting the work of an extremely focused Severus Snape.

"Who is it?" Snape replied quickly with obvious annoyance.

"Severus, it's Albus. May I come in?" Dumbledore said.

"Well, seeing as you probably will, regardless as to whether you get my permission, why not."

"Thank you, Severus. And you are quite right although I did not come just to be intrusive."

"That's likely." Snape said rolling his eyes.

"I came to tell you about the start of term staff meeting that will begin soon in the great hall. Are you coming?"

"Do I really have a choice?" Snape said with complete displeasure.

"Of course not." Dumbledore said with a chuckle, "But I will ask that you be a bit friendlier at the meeting, our new charms professor arrived this afternoon and will be attending and I can assure you the first thing she _doesn't_ need from you is a scowl."

"Headmaster, I'm hardly in the mood for introductions and I've-"

"I'm not sure introductions will be entirely necessary, as I understand it, you know each other quite well." Dumbledore said with a conveying smirk. A smirk that, Severus knew, meant the old man was up to something. "I'll be heading to the great hall right now and I suggest you do too." Albus said with a nod and left Severus completely confused (a feeling that was usually foreign to him). Dumbledore had left a million thoughts running through Snape's mind.

_Who the hell could this teacher be that he knows "well"? _Snape thought. "_Could he have possibly hired another death eater to teach? No, definitely not, I would have known. _Severus was caught between being extremely curious and extremely furious as to Dumbledore's words. _Why does he always have to be so bloody cryptic?_ Snape questioned as he stalked off towards the great hall.

* * *

As Lily reached the great hall with new found confidence she noticed that the long wooden tables that normally took up all the space in the great hall were all moved to the sides of the room besides one. It was right in the middle of the hall, surrounded by chairs, for all of the professors, with Dumbledore already seated at the head of it. He quickly motioned for her to have a seat next to him and as she sat down other teachers started to arrive. Lily greeted all of them with a huge smile realizing how great it was to see some of the again especially Professor McGonagall. Soon all of the chairs were full except for one and that's when Lily leaned over and whispered to Dumbledore.

"Who's missing?"

"Oh, our potions professor, but he'll be here any minute." He whispered back.

"That's funny, isn't Slughorn always pretty keen on punctuality? I mean never seemed to miss a chance to give James and Sirius detention for tardiness."

"Yes of course _he_ was dear, but we've hired a new professor since then."

"Well, who-?" Lily didn't need to finish her sentence as she turned her head towards the door and had it answered for herself. In came Severus Snape, tall and brooding as ever, striding into the great hall with his eyes fixed in front of him. Her breath hitched as she realized he would be sitting directly across from her at the table and she began to get nervous. She hadn't spoken to the man in years and so what could she possible say to him now? _Oh, hi, great to see you! You might not know this, but since we've last spoken I've married and had a son with your sworn enemy. And now my life is great, how about you?_ Lily was at a loss and could not believe Dumbledore hadn't mentioned this to her! She had no doubt in her mind that Dumbledore had planned this as some sort of forced indirect reconciliation between them. She also had no doubt that this most definitely would never ever work. Severus was her past and she intended to keep it that way.

**So, there's the second chapter and I hope you enjoyed it! I feel like it moved really slow because again a lot of it was setup and not so much plot. Next chapter we'll get Sev's view on seeing Lily again for the first time. I'm still not exactly sure how I'm doing the POV's yet either. I'll probably just toggle between Severus and Lily. And again this story is not strictly planned out, so I'm up for any suggestions as to what you guys want to read! But I do promise that I will not abandon this story or leave it unfinished! Till next time, happy reading! (:**


	3. Chapter 3

**So I'm not very satisfied with this** **chapter, but I think it's as good as it's going to get. It seems to drag on (because there's A LOT less dialogue) and I feel a little bad about the cliffhanger at the end, but that just means an interesting next chapter ;) Also going between Sev and Lily's viewpoints was sort of difficult and I hope as their relationship grows (spoiler) that it will get a lot easier. Thank you all again for the follows, reviews, and favorites. They never fail to put a smile on my face and I've gotten some great advice from them too!**

**Disclaimer: Not J.K. Rowling and unfortunately not making billions.**

Chapter 3

Severus Snape was most definitely not excited to converse with the other teachers about their plans for the upcoming school year especially since they usually don't change at all from the previous, so as he strode into the great hall and his eyes quickly scanned the familiar long table, he noticed nothing out of the ordinary. The only thing that really brought him to the meeting was the his curiosity about the appointment of the new charms teacher, who he was certain would probably be some over-zealous try hard who would hate the job after one year and promptly abandon their post. Without even looking up or trying to seem remotely inviting he sat down in his chair to the right of Dumbledore, the same place he always sat for these treacherous meetings. It wasn't until Dumbledore cleared his throat to begin to speak, that Severus finally looked up and realized that he had just seated himself a small table width away from none other than Lily _Potter. _Severus's gaze was now unwillingly locked on Lily. Everything he had missed for so long, the red hair and those startling green eyes were right in front of him. Slowly, and against his will, the Occlumency shields in his mind were being completely shattered. He had no idea what to do. How come the Dark Lord himself couldn't so much as crack his shields, but by just looking at her, Lily could bring them all crashing down? Severus groaned inward as he realized that this meeting was most certainly going to the longest and most pleasurably painful ever.

* * *

Lily stayed completely rigid the entire time that Severus was sitting down. She didn't once look at him directly, so she pretended not notice him. She knew, however, that Severus would know she was purposely avoiding him, but it was better than accidentally making eye contact with him. As both Severus and Lily sat, both battling their thoughts about each other, Dumbledore began to speak.

"Welcome back everyone! Hope you've all been well over the summer considering how things have taken some nasty turns." He was obviously referring to Voldemort's new power and influence, though any hint of fear or concern was untraceable behind his warm smile. "Now this year we have a new staff member, Mrs. Potter. She will be assuming the post of charms professor."

Everyone at the table gave a slight clap as Lily gave a small wave of acknowledgement. She knew Severus was looking at her and she blushed hoping that the attention would soon divert away from her. Though Severus was looking at her, it wasn't at her face, it was at the gold band on her ring finger that really drew his attention. Severus had always figured ever since James and Lily started dating that they would probably get married, it was only logical, but seeing the ring on her finger made him dizzy with jealousy and longing. It was a physical reminder that James had actually one-upped him in life and obtained what Severus knew he never could.

"Now I do hope that we will _all_ assist Mrs. Potter in feeling at home and prepared for the student's arrival. Teaching, as we all know, can be extremely difficult and not exactly, as the muggles would say a stroll in the park." Dumbledore pressed on with a chuckle.

* * *

The meeting passed smoothly with main topics being student safety and rules that the teachers felt should be better enforced this year. Little was heard from both Lily and Severus as the tension got the better of them. When Dumbledore finally dismissed the meeting, Severus was the first to rise (nearly knocking his chair over) and swept out of the hall in a flurry of black robes and clenched fists. Lily, however, stayed behind wanting a full explanation as to why Albus had not told her who she would have to work with this year. She then proceeded to follow Dumbledore to the doors of the great hall.

"Albus, I really don't mean to be rude, but of all the things you have informed me about today and it never crossed your mind ONCE to tell me that Severus bloody Snape works here too? I mean for merlin's sake, isn't he a Death Eater?! Is having him around even safe?" Lily said with extreme boldness.

"It is completely safe having Severus around. I would trust him with my life and no, I'm sorry my dear, but I assumed you two would be able to put aside your differences, like the mature adults you are, with or without prior knowledge." Dumbledore said.

_How dare he suggest that I'm not being mature? It's most definitely Severus who is acting like a child? __Dumbledore would really trust him with his life? Has he even seen Severus's forearm?_ "Sir, I can assure you I will treat him with the same respect that I will give the other teachers, but don't be surprised if he doesn't reciprocate. He's the one with grudge."

"Is he?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well, yes. I mean…he.." Lily tried to formulate an answer before Dumbledore began again.

"Weren't you the one who didn't forgive him? The one who removed him from your life? I believe the only reason he doesn't talk to you is because he believes you have never forgiven him for something that happened when you were teenagers. I think that sounds like quite a grudge if you ask me."

Lily could not believe it, Dumbledore was trying to convey that it was she who had the grudge!

"I'm not saying he doesn't hold a grudge of his own, but you may want to look at yourself before pointing fingers at him. Good evening, Lily." Dumbledore said as he turned away. Lily quickly called out to him "Wait, where would-?"

"The dungeons, but approach him the caution, his temper is one to make even Voldemort cower." He responded with a chuckle and a wink.

Lily smiled "I'm quite aware, headmaster." She then turned and headed towards the dungeons. "Where do you think he got it from?" she quietly said to herself with a slight giggle.

* * *

Severus sat at his desk contemplating the the extreme twist of events that had taken place this afternoon. _Lily and I will be in the same building for the next 9 months. We'll see each other at dinner, in the halls, in staff meetings. Oh, stop being foolishly hopeful! _Severus thought to himself. _She has Potter and their spawn at home. Why should she even give him the time of day?_ He also thought about her protection. _She and her family are being hunted by the Dark Lord, so why the hell is she getting a job at Hogwarts? She can't be hard up for money, being married to Potter, so why would Albus even offer her a job?_ Absolutely none of this made sense to him and as he sat there, a small knock pulled him from his thoughts.

"Headmaster, I most certainly do not wish to see speak with you at the present time." Severus said through gritted teeth. But he was certainly not prepared for the sweet voice that came to his ears.

"Severus? It's me. May I come in?"

* * *

**Cruel, I know, but I needed to stop this freaking chapter! I can't wait for you guys to read the next one! We'll finally have Severus and Lily conversation! Hope you're all still enjoying! Like I've said before, nothing is set in stone with this story (besides the eventual SSLE) so if you'd like to see something in particular, just PM me and I'll see what I can do (: **


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok, this chapter is...odd. It turned out quite a bit different than I thought. It's sorta lengthy, which I can't say I like, but we have to get this "garbage" out of the way before we can get to some good SSLE stuff. Also considering that James should be out of the picture within the next few chapters lifts my spirits a bit. I only have so much wiggle room with what Lily would and would not say to Sev with James still around. I still feel like I'm stuck in a hole, progress wise, but I hope you enjoy it! Thank you to all the guest reviews! I would love to reply to you individually, but...yea.**

**Disclaimer: Jo Rowling already has dibs on Harry Potter. Not me. What a tragedy.**

* * *

Chapter 4

To say that Severus Snape was surprised was putting it mildly. He had been expecting the knock to be produced by Dumbledore whom he had no desire to see what so ever, but now he was faced with allowing entrance to someone he longed to see, but as of this evening wanted desperately to avoid. He finally came to his senses and sputtered out a reply that shocked even him.

"Yes."

Lily was caught off guard slightly by his short, but convivial answer, for she had already inferred from his previous tone of voice that he really wasn't in the mood for company. She slowly opened the heavy wooden door and entered the room with the smallest of movements only opening the door wide enough for her body. Lily shut it quietly behind her and stood rooted to the floor looking straight ahead at Severus sitting as his desk. She thought how odd it was to see him in this atmosphere as a teacher and even though he knew potions inside and out, she couldn't imagine he was the easiest person to take instruction from. Lily then realized he was probably waiting for an explanation as to her unexpected visit.

"Uhm…I wanted to talk. If…if that's ok?" Lily mentally berated herself for sounding so childish in front of him.

"Yes, of course." Severus motioned for her to sit down in a chair in front of his desk. He said the words with absolutely no emotion and hoped that maybe she would want to leave, but even deeper he secretly hoped she would end up sitting and talking with him all evening. However, that foolish thought was quickly obliterated as his eyes once again fell upon her gold wedding band. He couldn't think of a more repulsive object.

Lily sat down with forced calmness. She took a deep breathe in and began to speak "So, how long have you been teaching potions?"

_Really? She couldn't possibly be here for this kind of small talk, could she? "_For a year. Unfortunately." He said with a slight roll of his eyes.

"Oh." _Really, Severus? I just want to talk; I don't need your attitude. _"You obviously don't enjoy it."

"Not in the slightest." Then came the dreadful silence that left Severus and Lily's ears ringing. Their thoughts at that moment were exactly the same. How did it get to this? How did their once seemingly endless friendship with innumerable conversations that would last hours, turn into obligatory, awkward, small talk. Lily was the first to break the silence.

"Severus, I want to be…" But she couldn't finish her sentence. _What did she want to be? Friends? HA! The time for that was long gone._

"On speaking terms." Thankfully Severus finished for her, but what he said after shocked Lily. "Me too." He said without even looking up at her.

"Yes." Lily said expelling a breath she had held for a while now. She slackened slightly in her chair and noticeably relaxed.

"So, have you completed your first week's lesson plans?" Severus said trying to make colleague like conversation.

"Not quite, but almost." Lily said biting her lip, looking down, and then back at him. Severus knew that sequence of mannerisms all too well.

"You haven't even started them." Lily blushed from his accusation which only confirmed it.

"Well, I can't help it. Having a one year old doesn't give you much time to "plan" anything." Lily countered not even thinking about keeping Harry or James out of the conversation, much to Snape's displeasure.

"Yes I'm sure that would be difficult. Considering…" Severus didn't particularly want to finish his sentence.

"Considering what, Severus?" Lily said, daring him to continue. Severus couldn't resist now.

"Well, considering those would probably be the consequences of procreating with Potter." He said with a slight smirk. Lily was infuriated by his comment, but knew that's the response he wanted. He wanted to win the argument, but so did she, so she decided to even the playing field.

"Procreating? Huh? How modestly put, Severus, but I can't help but ask does a Death Eater get around much?" Lily said looking him straight in the eyes, trying to make him as uncomfortable as possible. "Or does your "master" have control over _that_ part of your life too?"

Severus then looked down and in that mere second Lily knew she had gotten the upper hand. Her glory was short-lived, however, as she saw him look up at her, the spark of argumentative conversation gone.

"Lily, please, I'm sorry." He said in his most sincere voice. Lily was drawing a complete blank, the conversation going so quickly from sex life banter to apologies.

"Uhm, wait what?" She stuttered and shook her head.

"I'm sorry." He repeated meeting her eyes. The black fixed on green. "I'm sorry for everything, for what I've become…for what we've become. I want to fix this, fix _us._"

Lily's thoughts were now a chaotic mess of sympathy, rage, and nostalgia, his words vividly reminding her of his forgiveness pleas in fifth year.

"Severus, I'm telling you know that I forgave you a long time ago for calling me a mudblood (he involuntarily flinched at the word), but some things I can't forgive you for? You blatantly hold a boyish grudge over James, who has grown to be a mature adult, you're now carrying that very same grudge over to my son, and most of all, the fact that despite my constant advice to stay away from Dark Magic, you delved yourself so deep into it and now..." She reached for his arm, gripped his wrist and pulled up his sleeve revealing his forearm. "You're one of _them._" She said, chest huffing, tears threatening to spill. "And the worst part? My whole family is in hiding because your lot is after us. We'd probably already be dead if it weren't for the Order's spy. Yea?! Can you believe it? We have someone that has infiltrated you guys! Gives us information every day to save countless innocent people. Not as great as you thought you were, huh?"

"Lily, who's the spy?" Severus said completely calm.

"I don't know. Dumbledore won't reveal his identity to keep him safe and even if I did know I would NEVER tell you!"

Lily then turned on her heel and promptly stalked off towards the door, but Severus followed her.

"Lily, stop! Please!" Severus called after her.

She jerked the door open and before as she slammed it shut she heard him. His words freezing her outside the door.

"Lily, it's me."

She slowly gripped the door handle and cracked the door a mere inch. "What?" She whispered. Her voice wavering slightly. Severus approached the door and opened it up all the way standing with Lily face to face. Her face was an unreadable expression even for Severus.

"It's me… I'm the spy. Why do you think Dumbledore hired me to work here anyways? Do you really think he would have done it without a reason?" Severus said with not a trace of treachery or deceit in his words. Lily did not want to cry in front of him, but she couldn't hold them back any longer. All along the anonymous savior of her small family, was the one person she had lost all faith in. Her emotions were scattered as were her thoughts. In that moment she knew speaking would be a futile response and reacted in the way best way she could. She looped her arms around his neck and brought him into a tight embrace sobbing into his robes. Severus tensed immediately, but soon eased into her touch.

Severus was through with trying to seem unfazed and denying himself her presence. He reciprocated and gently wrapped his arms around her waist. To his suprise she didn't pull away. This whole moment for him was surreal. He couldn't remember the last time he had been hugged like this especially from Lily.

"Thank you, thank you so much." Lily whispered as her head rested on his shoulder. Lily didn't care that he was hugging her back, he deserved it. They stayed ensconced in each other till the tears dried on Lily's face and the initial overwhelming gratitude had faded. She took a step back and looked up at him.

"I knew you weren't one of them. That isn't you. It never was you." Lily said wiping the excess tears from her face and let out a tiny laugh. "Merlin, I probably look terrible. Leave it to you to make someone experience the entire spectrum of emotion in less than 20 minutes.

"I just can't have you mad at me anymore, Lily. I wasn't about to have you walk out that door without hearing me out. No more secrets and lies. I want you to know the absolute truth." Severus had no idea where this was coming from. This was so unlike himself, but lying to Lily was something he couldn't do anymore. He really had nothing to lose.

"Well, thank you, this changes a lot. What you did was so brave, I'm not even sure I could have done something like that. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be heading back to my cham-"

"No." Severus cut her off. "I said I won't have you walk out that door until you hear me out. Lily, I am a spy for the Dark Lord, but that's not all of it. I need you to know _everything._"

Lily was confused. "What do you mean everything? What more is there?"

"Lily, how much do you know about the prophecy regarding your son?"

* * *

**Ok, this chapter was difficult. It was like trying to talk after you've eaten a bowl of ice cream. To put my difficulty into normal terms. I'm ALSO very sorry again for the cliffhanger. I do not blame you if you get pissed and want to throw your computer against a wall because when my favorite Snily stories do that I want to commit murder and do other numerous psychotic things. After the next chapter, I promise all of this back-and-forth, hate-and-forgiveness crap will be out of the way! I do also want to say that Severus WILL get a chance to throw everything back at Lily. About how much she hurt him and everything! Then we can FINALLY get on with the good stuff! Till next time, happy reading! (Oh and if for some strange reason you want updates on my life feel free to follow me on Tumblr and Twitter, the links to which are on my page.) :D  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Am I J.K. Rowling? No. Do I wish I was? Every freaking day of my life.**

**Hey guys! So, in complete disregard to my last little update, I got the chance to put this up, so here you go! I'm still writing away every day and the story is coming along so well! Thank you all so much for reading!**

Chapter 5

"It depends. How much do _you_ know about it?" Lily retorted.

"I asked you first." Snape responded seriously. Lily rolled her eyes. "Lily, please have a seat." She sat down at a vacant desk while Severus remained standing. "Now just tell me what you know."

"Uhm well, You-Know-Who heard some ridiculous prophecy and is after Harry because he has marked him as his "equal" or something like that. He thinks for some twisted reason that a baby can defeat him. James and I know its total rubbish." Lily said with an increasing tone of anger. She realized then how truly angry this made her, so she kept going. "It's just so bloody frustrating. This isn't exactly how I envisioned raising my son for the first year of his life. And the worst part is knowing people who think I'm just the luckiest woman alive. They say "Oh, you have the charming James Potter, a beautiful son, and a full vault at Gringotts" and it sounds great when you say it like that, but…"Lily noticed that Severus was pacing in front of her and probably didn't hear a word she said.

"Severus." He looked up. "You're going to put a hole in the floor with your pacing." He finally sat down in the desk next to hers.

"Lily I did something really, really bad and I wouldn't blame you if you walked out this door and never spoke to me again." He said with his eyes fixed forward, not even looking over at Lily. He just couldn't meet her eyes when he told her.

"Well, I wouldn't." Lily waited and watched him struggle with how to approach whatever it was he wanted to tell her. "Severus Snape! I WILL, however, walk out this door if you don't tell me right now!"

Snape finally took a long deep breath in and said, "It's my fault."

"What?" Lily said with confusion.

"_All_ my fault. Lily your family is in danger because of me. I was the one who informed the Dark Lord of that prophecy." He stopped, having to stop to swallow back the lump in his throat. He felt like he had ton weights in his stomach waiting for her to say something. Of course he knew what she'd probably say. It would be some sort of insult (that he full well deserved) and then a goodbye. A goodbye to sever any and all ties that we're left of their new reconstituted relationship. He finally looked up at her. Lily's eyes were full of tears, but she didn't immediately say anything or leave, much to Snape's relief.

"Did you know?" Lily asked softly, her voice threatening to crack. "Did you know that it meant my son?"

"Lily, how could I? I couldn't have known that you were expecting a child. I would have never purposefully put your family in danger." Snape had a sense of urgent pleading in his voice. "That's why I had to go to Dumbledore when I found out that the Dark Lord was pursuing you. I was willing to do anything. _Anything_ to right this awful wrong. It tore me apart Lily and I regret it every damn day of my life."

Lily had no idea what to think. She didn't know whether she should be upset, livid, remorseful, or an odd combination of all three. Severus was the reason for her family's condemned life. He was the reason her son had become some prophetic defeater of the darkest wizard of all time. She tried to be made at him, but as she looked over at him she saw, not a death eater, but a man who wasn't evil at all, a very brave man who just made bad choices. His head was in his hands and she was sure he was hiding tears. Lily turned to face him, reached for his hands, and brought them down onto her lap.

"Look at me." Lily said and as Snape lifted his head, she realized how strange it was to see him in such a vulnerable state. It humanized him.

"Lily, I'm a terrible person. You shouldn't even have someone like me in your life."

"Severus, doing terrible things doesn't make you a terrible person."

"But all that stuff you just said to me. How much you hate being in hiding and how you haven't been able to raise your son the way you want to. It's all because of me and the Dark Lord will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants and-" Severus was caught off my words he couldn't fathom being real.

"I forgive you." Lily said quietly.

"No, that's foolish, Lily."

"No, Severus, what's foolish is beating yourself up over something that left your control and something that you did to your fullest extent to fix. You unintentionally put my family in danger, but you intentionally tried to get us out of it and that means all the difference in the world." Lily said still holding his hands. "I'm not going to pretend that I'm not upset, but in my eyes, you've redeemed yourself. You're not even on You-Know-Who's side anymore, you protected my family, and you're helping the Order save countless others. That takes so much bravery that I would even say your turning into a Gryffindor." She said with the smallest of smiles. "So, please, accept my forgiveness so we can move on. I want my best friend back, I want _Sev _back."

Severus couldn't believe what he was hearing. After all that he had done it was finally worth something. His switching sides had earned her forgiveness and that's all he'd ever needed. The heavy feeling in his stomach had receded and in its place was a feeling he hadn't experienced in a quite some time. He was happy. Not overly ecstatic or extremely depressed, just happy. And then Severus Snape did the only thing he wanted to do when he was happy. He pulled Lily into a hug hopefully conveying every ounce of gratefulness.

"Uhm, Severus? Lily said with struggle.

"Hmm?"

"I can't…breathe."

"Oh, sorry, Lily." Severus said letting go. Not realizing how hard he was actually hugging her.

"You know people might like you better if you gave hugs like that to everyone." Lily said playfully.

"Lily, I'm a teacher/double agent/ex-death eater. Not some starry-eyed teenage girl." Snape retorted.

"Oh yes of course. How could I forget that you have a reputation to maintain?" Lily said smiling at him.

"Well, it does keep the students obedient." Severus said with a small laugh.

"I think it keeps them scared."

"Says the woman who hasn't taught a day in her life."

"Well then, what do you think the students will think of me as a Charms teacher?" Lily said genuinely wanting to know.

"Well you're too nice so obviously they'll try take advantage of you."

"Severus, I don't think they'll take advantage. I mean a few will, but I think being a nice teacher just lets them enjoy the class. You should probably try it some time. Hmm?"

"Ha Ha" Severus said with his intended sarcasm. "Also you're young woman, so you're going to get some unwanted attention."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that many seventh year overly-hormonal boys probably won't try to be discrete if they find you attractive." Severus said being completely serious.

"Oh, yes, a married mother of one is just so attractive. I'll be fighting off hoards of boys." Lily said giggling.

"Right." Severus said swallowing hard. Lily was completely unaware as to how awkward she had made the conversation for him. _Lily, you can't even tell you've had a kid. Plus, it would be a piece of cake to disregard that ring on your finger._ Severus mentally scolded himself for thinking that, but it was nothing short of the truth.

"So, _if_ that happens to happen. How should I go about discipline?" Lily said. She was enjoying his company and his subjective teaching advice.

"Well, if you have any trouble early on, just send them to me and I'll take care of it." Severus said looking at her.

"What's that look for, Severus Snape? You think I can't discipline my own students?" Said Lily.

"Well, throughout your school years I don't think you experienced much of the disciplinary system, so I'd imagine your skill in that area is…lacking." Snape said smirking.

"I'll have you know, I do have a young son who likes to misbehave quite often and I do just fine with him." Lily said trying to act full of herself.

"Ok, one, you are teaching teenagers. They are a whole different species than your small son and do some of the worst things. And two, discipline in the Potter household? Wow, now that's something you don't hear every day." Snape replied.

"Severus, you are too funny." Lily said with mockery.

"Oh, I know." Snape said laced with false conceit.

"And arrogant too? Wow, now that attracts the ladies."

"Well, it obviously worked on you." The words left his mouth without thinking and it's then that he felt the sting of Lily's hand on his face. She had slapped him not lightly, but definitely not as hard as she could've.

"Sorry, but you deserved it." Lily said. "It was funny…but you bloody deserved it.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Lily." Snape said, still rubbing his red cheek and giving her a tiny smile.

"Well, I should probably be getting back to my rooms now. As you know, I actually _don't _have my lesson plans started." Lily said as she headed towards the door for a second time.

"Ok, yes, of course." Snape said to Lily, but before she reached the door he asked. "Hey, Lily?"

She turned around. "Yes?"

"Uhm, would you like to have lunch together tomorrow? I can help you with your lesson plans and things." Snape said trying not show that he was beyond nervous. Sweaty hand and his heart pounding in his chest. "I mean I understand if you don't want to, but-"

"Sev, quite with the incessant rambling! I'll go!" Lily said laughing "How about noon tomorrow at The Three Broomsticks?"

"Sure, that'd be great." Snape experienced an instant rush of relief.

"Ok, see ya later!" Lily said with a smile and a wave.

"Bye, Lily!" Severus said as she shut the door. It was then that he noticed he was smiling like a maniac, almost unheard of when pertaining to himself. He didn't care that she was Mrs. _Potter_. He didn't care that she had a son. He just had her in his life and that was all that mattered. His life was finally looking up and as he thought about the months to come, he realized that this school year might just be the finest one ever.


	6. Chapter 6

**I am finally back from vacation and back to the grind that it is writing fanfiction. I went to the Outer Banks in North Carolina and we're selling our beach houses, so we had to clean them all out, have a yard sale, blah blah blah! It was a working vacation but I'm glad to be home with my sweet, sweet wifi back (yay!). This chapter is pretty long, but you guys waited for it, so this is my repayment. I do sort of like this one and I'm planning on now skipping ahead to the student's arrival. Otherwise, this story would end up being something like 1,000+ chapters. I hope you enjoy and once again I apologize for my absence! (If any of you are interested I was listening to Dope by Tyga while writing this. Does it have anything to do with this story? No. Does evoke emotion? No. It's just my background noise, but if you'd like to read it exactly the way I wrote it, then jam out my friends.)**

**Disclaimer: I am Morgan, not J.K. Rowling. I don't own Harry Potter. I just own a laptop.**

Chapter 6

As soon Lily reached her chambers she pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill and began to write a letter to James. He had asked her before she left to write him and tell him how things were going. She began writing about how she was already missing both him and Harry and hoped that their first afternoon without her went smoothly. She went on talking about how she had already gotten unpacked, settled in, and attended her first meeting with the other professors. As soon as she reached the part of her day that involved Severus she promptly stopped, ink leaving a blotch on the paper. _What was she supposed to say? She knew James would be furious, which would make him boarder line wreck less, which then would result in him storming into Hogwarts to tell Dumbledore that it would not be safe to have someone like Severus Snape around. No, she couldn't tell him. Not yet._ She then quickly banished the blotch of ink that evidenced her indecisiveness and finished the letter with a quick "I love you" and a promise to write soon. She sealed up the letter and set it aside planning to take it up to the owlery later. She sat back in her chair and sighed realizing that she was actually hiding something from James. She wasn't lying to him at all just not telling him something. Lily could continually confide in her husband with everything, but Severus was always something completely different. He was a subject that James knew to never bring up in front of Lily and vice versa. It was the only thing that they just naturally avoided. So, here she sat, naturally avoiding bringing Severus up in a conversation with James, so what made it wrong or different than any other time?_ Nothing, _Lily thought as she reached for the letter and headed to the owlery.

* * *

Severus awoke the next morning to a positively annoying ringing noise that made his head hurt. He reached over for the clock on his bed side that read 6:30 AM. It was odd considering he had charmed it to go off at 9:00, which was his preferred time of rising during his summer holiday, but realized it wasn't his clock that was ringing. He sat up rubbing his eyes only to hear that it was coming from his office.

"Bloody hell." He whispered as he got up, threw a shirt on, and headed over to his office. A scowl gracing his face.

The door was slightly ajar and he could see a silvery light coming through the crack. _It must be a Patronus? Probably some message of Dumbledore's. I swear to Merlin if I see that bloody Phoenix I'll-_ but it wasn't a phoenix patronus. It was a silvery misty doe figure that stood in his office permeating the most irritating sound. Snape knew immediately that is was Lily's and his only questions were why did she send this and how the _hell_ was he supposed to make it stop?

He approached the doe and put his hand on it which, much to his pleasure, silenced the ringing noise. The next thing he heard was Lily's voice seemingly much too cheerful for 6:30 in the morning.

"Good Morning, Severus! Before you start complaining and whining that I woke you up, I just wanted to remind you about lunch today at The Three Broomsticks! Wouldn't want you forgetting! OK, well, see ya then!"

The patronus faded after the message leaving Severus standing in his office, disheveled and half-awake, with fading irritation that was being replaced by excitement. He was just reminded that he had an entire afternoon with Lily planned for today. An afternoon without Dumbledore, without James, without anyone and it made him cheerful. A "Lily at 6:30 in the morning" type of cheerful. He was now wide awake and with a spring in his step he decided to get ready for the day, at 6:30, because Lily wanted him to and he really didn't need any more reasoning than that.

* * *

At 11:30 Lily headed up to Dumbledore's office to tell him that she would be leaving the castle grounds today. Considering that this could be potentially dangerous for her, he would want to know and she hoped he wouldn't tell her that she couldn't go. Although, he probably wouldn't, for he would face Lily's argumentative spirit as well as Severus's.

"Acid Pops." Lily said to the gargoyle revealing the staircase to Dumbledore's office. She ascended the staircase

"Hello, Mrs. Potter." Dumbledore said nodding warmly as Lily entered the room.

"Hello, headmaster."

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Dumbeldore said as though he already knew.

"Well, I'll be leaving the castle grounds today. In about a half hour. For, um, lunch." Lily said feeling as if she was asking permission.

"Mhmm, and I trust you won't be making this trip alone?" Said Dumbledore, once again, leaving Lily feeling as if he already knew the answer to that question too.

"Yes. Severus will be accompanying me." Lily couldn't help but think it sounded weird to hear out loud.

"Good."

"Good?" Lily asked out of curiosity.

"Yes, good. I wouldn't want you leaving the castle with anyone but either me or Severus. Of course, I doubt you are in much danger in Hogsmeade in the middle of the afternoon, but I can't but imagine that Severus would let much happen to you if that were the case."

"Right." Lily said realizing her stomach was clenched the whole time, hoping to gain Dumbledore's permission. "Well, I should be going. Goodbye."

"Yes. Wouldn't want to keep Severus waiting. Sort of impatient he is." Dumbledore said with a small laugh and wink.

Lily giggled, "Exactly." She turned and left the Headmaster's office feeling that she would never understand Dumbledore's mannerisms and the meanings that were concealed within them.

* * *

Severus sat anxiously at The Three Broomsticks, his left leg bouncing slightly and his hands clasped together. He had spent all morning preparing himself for this afternoon, putting actual stock into his appearance and coming up with things to keep steady conversation. He checked his watch again for the 6th time in the last 5 minutes. It was 11:59 and Lily was never late. He heard the heavy wooden door of the tavern open up and Lily bustled in dressed in muggle attire. _Did she really have to pick jeans and a v-neck top? Is she trying to kill me? _Severus thought as she waved at him as she walked towards the table. He stood and pulled her chair out.

"Thanks, Sev." She said as she sat down. "Not very busy here, huh?"

"Well, this is what it's like when school is out. Not crowded with filthy teenagers." Snape said.

"Filthy teenagers? Says the 21 year old." Lily said laughing. Severus couldn't resist a smile. "But considering all we've been through already, I'd say we have to be at least 30 metaphorically."

"Don't remind me." Severus said rolling his eyes. Lily chuckled. Soon the waitress came over and took their orders. Of course they both got the same thing. Grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup. It was something they always got when they were younger and felt they would betray their juvenile tradition getting anything else. Lily then quickly added "I'd also like two fire whiskeys, please." She said as Severus gave her a look with his eyebrows raised.

"What?"

"Really, Lily? Hard liquor at 12 in the afternoon? Is there something you're not telling me? Severus said laughing.

"Hey, I don't get to drink often, okay? Considering I don't have any responsibilities today, I thought it would be appropriate. Besides, I ordered two, so you're drinking with me." Lily said before he had the chance to decline.

"Yes, ma'am." Severus said sarcastically.

Their food soon arrived and they devoured it in record time followed by a shot of fire whiskey. Severus could easily have had another one, but wasn't sure of Lily's tolerance which he felt was probably low. Of course, against his better judgment, when he ordered another one Lily asked if he would make that two and he said yes. He had never planned for this to happen, but Severus's willpower against Lily had now proven completely ineffective because within the next hour he had allowed her to have 4 shots of fire whiskey and a butterbeer. He, however, stuck with two shots and a butterbeer, because he didn't know what might come spilling out of his mouth if he was drunk around Lily. Especially after what he was now hearing coming out of Lily's.

"I just…I love James don't get me wrong, but sometimes he can be so clingy. D'you know what I mean?" Lily said the alcohol making her green eyes glassy and slightly unfocused. Her cheeks donned a pink color and he couldn't help, but think she looked even more beautiful than usual. He nodded to let her know that he was still listening even though couldn't imagine a worse situation. Any circumstances that he could ever imagine involving Lily and alcohol had never included discussing her married life with Potter.

"So, what about you? Any girlfriends?" Lily said in a state of new found courage. Her chest felt warm and her head was swimming. As she looked at Severus sitting next to her at complete ease she couldn't help but wonder if anyone had ever had the privilege of seeing him like this.

_Really the conversation has come to this? My love life?_ "Uhm, no. I don't really have time for that." Severus said hastily.

"Severus, we need to find you someone!" Lily said, although, Severus knew that it was the alcohol talking, not her.

"No, we really don't." Severus said desperately wanting to change the subject.

"You don't fancy anyone?" Lily said raising her eyebrows.

"Not at all." _Except you of course. Again, why the hell did you have to wear a v-neck?_ Severus thought as he fought to keep his eyes up and his thoughts down. "Um, Lily, why don't we head back to the castle?"

"Yea, that sounds really great actually." Said Lily who was becoming extremely sleepy.

Severus paid for their food and drinks and offered Lily his arm as he escorted her out of the pub. The warm late August air was calming and made Lily even more comfortable than she already was. She had taken his arm and was glad that he offered because she realized just how unsteady she was.

"If I apparate up to the castle gates, will you promise not to throw up on me?" Severus said with false seriousness.

"I'll try my best." Lily said giggling. He pulled her to him closer than would be normally required for safe apparition, but she was quite unstable and in truth was tempted too much not to. Lily felt his arms wrap around her and she felt oddly secure. She felt a tugging just behind her navel and the spinning began and ended quickly enough. Soon they were standing outside Hogwarts gates and Lily felt sick.

"Lily, are you ok?

"I don't think so." Lily said right as the contents of her dinner were forced from her stomach to the grass. Severus would normally have no intention of helping a vomiting drunk person, but he could never refuse helping Lily. In fact, he rushed to her side and reached for her fiery red hair. He held it back, with his hand on her elbow, as she continued to heave and spit.

"Ok." She said slightly breathless. "I think I'm done." She said wiping the sweat off her forehead. She was slowly coming back to her senses, but still felt a little tipsy.

"Sorry about that." Lily said apologizing weakly.

"It's no matter, Lily. I've seen worse." Severus said being completely honest. He was a Death Eater, so vomiting was something he was forced to be accustomed to whether it was his or anyone else's.

"Severus, would please walk me to my rooms? I think I really need some sleep and those stairs look rather...tricky."

"Of course."

Snape walked Lily into the castle and over to her chambers by the Charms classroom. She waved her wand to allow them entrance and they walked in.

"Well, if that's everything then. I'll see you this evening at dinner? Or maybe you'd prefer not to eat?" Severus said smirking.

"I might just eat in my rooms tonight, but thank you for lunch and for…helping me out." Lily said blushing.

"It was my pleasure." Snape headed out of her rooms as she layed down on the couch. He took off down the corridor and headed for Dumbledore's office to tell him that they had returned.

"Good afternoon, Severus." Dumbledore said in his perennially cheerful voice.

"Headmaster." He said nodding and heaving himself down in the chair opposite Albus.

"How did your date go?"

Severus shot him a scowl "It was not a date."

"Of course not, my dear boy. Just two old friends out for lunch. Forgive my curiosity, Severus, how _did_ you manage to get vomit on your robes?" Severus looked down and realized that when he held Lily's hair she had accidentally gotten a little vomit on the bottom of his robes.

"Oh, Lily, she uh, she got sick." Severus said, wanting to avoid telling Dumbledore that she was drunk.

"Hmm how so?" _Do you have to be so god damn nosey?_ Severus thought.

"She had quite a bit to drink."

"You got her drunk?"

"Of bloody course not!" Severus was enraged by his accusation. "_She_ wanted to drink, so I let her. God knows anyone who lives with two Potters needs a stiff drink now and again."

"Well, you shan't make a habit out of showing up around Hogsmeade with a drunken Lily Potter. It won't look for either of you."

"Sir, I wasn't really planning on it." Severus said with impatience.

"I trust you got her to her rooms safely?"

"Yes."

"Thank you. I'm sure she appreciates it. I'm sure she also appreciates your self-restraint. It would have only been too easy to take adv-"

"I would _never _have done anything like that, sir." Severus said sharply.

"Of course, my mistake. I'm glad you two are on the mend. We all need friends in these troubled times." He said with a wink. _Damn that bloody wink!_ Severus stood up and headed for the door.

"Severus, do you know if Lily has yet told James of your recent reconciliation?"

"No, sir. Why would it matter?"

"Well, he _is_ her husband. He may want to know who she is choosing to get drunk around."

"Believe me, he doesn't." Severus said stalking out of Dumbledore's office. As he made off toward the dungeons he thought that today had been pleasantly unpleasant. He got to eat lunch and talk to Lily about many things and even though she did drink too much, he enjoyed her company all the same. He loved having a silly Lily around with her fumbling words and false bravado. As Severus reached his office he realized that Lily's inebriation had probably inadvertently made them closer. Severus sat down at his desk only for a second before he felt a searing pain on his forearm. His dark mark was burning, the Dark Lord was calling. He immediately instituted the complex walls in his mind, making sure that Lily was locked away safely in his head, and took off for Malfoy Manor. There Voldemort was plotting. Plotting something so evil and sinister that it would shake the very foundation of the wizarding world and no one even knew it yet.

* * *

**There you have it folks. I can't help with the cliff hangers anymore. They just happen. And also if you haven't noticed we've only made like .01% progress with this story, but we're in no rush to finish this story. We shall enjoy this Snily fanfic as there are rarely ever any long ones. Also, if you would like to get updates on my feeble 16 year old life and updates as to how the writing is coming along please follow me on Twitter and Tumblr. It'll make it so much easier for me to get you guys in the know about things. The links to both of which are on my profile. Thank you all for your patience and stay literate! (:**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's the next chapter! I planned to put it up earlier, but I would literally type an entire page and then erase the whole thing! I was in such a particular mood that nothing seemed to flow right. I wanted to cover as much as possible in this chapter without making it too extremely long because I have a great idea for the next chapter and really want to get to it soon! It also doesn't help that it's been 90 degrees where I live which makes for horrible weather to write and focus in! Ok, but enough with my complaints! I want to thank everyone who reviews, favorites, and follows! They make me want to write all the time!**

**Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling. I'm not even Robert Galbraith (her recently uncovered pen name for those of you who have been living under a rock for the past few days). And wouldn't you know, I don't own Harry Potter either...weird.**

Chapter 7

Severus had gone to the meeting and come back in a mere half hour. Not much was said and that worried Snape to no end. _He had definitely meant to tell us something, but changed his mind at the last minute. _He had told the Death Eaters a few days ago not to expect a summon for the next couple weeks and that's what sparked the peculiarity in this one. He quickly went to Dumbledore's office and informed him of the meeting and that there really wasn't much to report on. Albus did, however, agree that Voldemort must've backed out on telling them something, rather spontaneously, and seemed slightly unnerved by it. By nightfall, Severus had returned to his chambers and was more than ready for bed. As soon as his head hit the pillow he was consumed by dreams of a beautiful red head and nightmares of a sadistic megalomaniac.

* * *

The next few days passed without incident and were quite enjoyable considering that the start of term was now upon them. Lily and Severus ended up together every day, whether is it was for lunch or helping with lesson plans. Severus enjoyed her company considering the only person he used to be able to talk to at Hogwarts was Albus and he got on his nerves in record time.

"I can't believe the students will be here tonight!" Lily said as she sat by the lake with Severus.

"Lily, you're giddier than most of the first years. You haven't been able to sit still all morning." Severus said with a smile. He noticed he'd been doing that quite often these days.

It was a beautiful sunny morning which made the lake sparkle. It had been rather tense the first time they strolled by the it a few days ago, as it was a reminder of "the incident" and was not a pleasurable experience for both parties concerned, but it was now a place of relaxation for Severus and Lily.

"Oh and please, don't remind me. I would like to enjoy my last few hours of peace." Severus said sarcastically.

"Really, how can you not be excited? I'd say you want to be a teacher as much as You-Know-Who wants to be dead."

"And you couldn't be more correct." Severus and Lily both chuckled.

"Well, I for one am excited. I can't wait for the great hall to be, well, "great hall-ish".

"Great hall-ish? Could you elaborate?"

"You know, all the candles lit, all four tables full of food, the din of students voice, just the atmosphere in general." Said Lily nostalgically. "Don't tell me you don't miss it too, Severus Snape." Lily said smiling at him.

I suppose, but I'll tell you one good thing that comes from being a teacher."

"What's that?"

"The house-elves always end up making too many desserts and they _hate_ to see them go to waste, so instead of throwing them out, they divvy them all out in the teacher's personal chambers."

"You're lying!" Lily said in disbelief.

"I swear! You just wait till you get back to your rooms tonight. It'll be full of cakes and candy. That's why all the teachers put on at least 3 stone every year." Severus said nodding.

"Yes, Sev, because you look like you've gained so much weight." Lily said sarcastically. "But, now that you mention that, this has to be one of the best jobs ever!"

"Hmm except for the fact that promptly the next morning, you're in the throes of teaching complete dunderheads."

"Hey, I've got an idea." Lily said ignoring Severus's statement which she had heard at least a hundred times today. "How about after the feast, you come to my chambers and help me do some final setting up in my classroom, heavy boxes and things that need to be moved."

"Oh, manual labor, my favorite." Lily rolled her eyes at him.

"But of course, you could help me tackle my sweets?" Lily said adding to the deal

"Yes." Severus said promptly and a little louder than necessary. Even though he had been with Lily all week, whenever she asked him specific questions like that, he always got a dizzy feeling of excitement and nerves. He now felt just as eager about tonight, if not more, than Lily. It was then that he spotted Dumbledore making his way over to them.

"Good morning, headmaster." Lily said beaming.

"Good morning to you too, my dear." Dumbledore said only to Lily. He had worked with Severus long enough to know that the last thing he would want is a "good morning".

"Mind if I have a word with you, Lily."

"Not at all." She followed Dumbledore back up to the castle, but not before turning around and giving Severus a shrug, mouthing "see you later", and a final smile.

* * *

"So…why are we here?" Lily said, seated across from Dumbledore's desk.

"I think you already know the answer to that one." Dumbledore said eyeing her.

"I haven't told him yet."

"Why?"

"He doesn't need to worry about me. He's got Harry to take care of and the last thing I want him to do is worry that I'm getting all "buddy- buddy" with a Death Eater."

"But you are."

"But I'm _not._" Lily said exasperated. "We're just old friends, we've always been old friends, and we always will be old friends."

"Lily, you know as well as I do that you two have been spending a lot of time together."

"And? What's wrong with that?"

"Forgive my bluntness, but you've already been drunk around him once, who's to say it won't happen again? What if next time he is too? What if next time you gu-"

"I'm done talking about this!" Lily was furious. "I know what the bloody hell you're insinuating and I really don't appreciate it! I am happily married and have no feelings like that for Sev!" With that said, she stormed out of his office and off to her chambers. If Dumbledore had the gall to suggest that her and Severus were in the early stages of some love affair then he was sorely mistaken. She sat down on her small sofa with a huff. Almost all of her excitement for tonight had been washed over with anger. _I don't love Severus, well, I do, but not in the way Dumbledore thinks! He's just a friend! The bloody nerve of the man to think that I would leave my family for a week and already be with some other man! _She sat back and thought about being around James versus being around with Severus. James was constantly moving and was never satisfied unless they were constantly doing something, but with Severus, it didn't matter. He could just sit and talk, or sit and read, or just sit and do absolutely nothing; he always seemed to be content. She also didn't seem to miss James and Harry as much as she thought she would. It really seemed as though Severus filled their void, which was something she was grateful for. As her thoughts roamed from James to Severus she quietly dozed off for what felt like fifteen minutes, until she heard a knock on her door.

"Lily?"

It was Severus. She went over to open it up and instead of just the shirt and trousers he was wearing earlier, he was in his full teaching robes.

"Lily, what are you doing still dressed like that?" said Severus. He noticed her slightly disheveled appearance and assumed she must have fallen asleep.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the feast starts in 30 minutes. I was going to walk with you down to the great hall."

"WHAT!?" Lily said in bewilderment. "Damn it! I thought I only took a short nap! Here come in and sit down for a minute while I change." As he walked in a sat down in a chair, Lily ran back in forth across her chambers getting ready. She soon popped her head out of her room holding up two different sets of robes.

"Green and black or green and red?"

"Lily!" Severus said blushing. She had only meant to pop her head out, but it was easy to tell that she was only in her knickers.

"Sorry! Just, which ones?"

"Uh, the green and black." Severus said just so that she would go put some clothes on. _Does she not realize that that is beyond distracting? I definitely don't need that image right now. _Within the next 10 minutes she was ready, dressed in green and black robes with her hair curled slightly.

"How do I look? Do I look teacherly enough?"

"Uh, yes, you look-" _Beautiful. Gorgeous. Perfect. _"-really nice."

"Thanks, Sev." She smiled at him as they left and headed for the great hall. The entire way to the hall Lily could not stop talking, whether it was out of nerves or excitement or both, Snape didn't know. They both strode up past the now vacant tables up to the staff table. Severus took his usual seat and motioned for Lily to just sit next to him. Soon enough all the other teachers joined them, including Dumbledore. Lily was still quite mad at him, but right now, she was just too excited to be anything less than exultant.

"Minerva said the carriages are here and she'll be in with the first years any moment." He whispered to Severus. Lily straightened up just as the door opened and the second to seventh years filed in and took their seat at their respective tables. She felt like she was being stared at and examined by a million pairs of eyes. Severus seemed to notice her tense beside him.

He leaned over and whispered. "It's ok, you'll get used to it." She calmed down slightly at his comment, but was still a little uneasy. The next moment, the first years were filing in behind Minerva and she looked fondly at their bemused stares of wonder and exhilaration. The sorting passed in a blur as she watched students shift to their new houses and endless clapping rang throughout the hall. It seemed like minutes before Dumbledore stood up to his podium and lazily raised his hand for silence.

"Welcome, welcome, back to another magnificent year at Hogwarts! Now before we begin our excellent feast, I have a few other announcements. For starters, Mr. Filch would like me to remind you all that the third floor corridor is strictly off limits and that anyone caught out of bed after hours will be given immediate detention." Some students snickered at these comments, clearly planning on disregarding any of Filch's requests. "I am also very pleased to announce our new Charms teacher, Professor Lily Potter." Dumbledore said smiling and beckoning for her to stand. She stood on shaky legs as the entire hall clapped and smiled. She had also earned a few whistles which earned the perpetrators death glares from Severus.

"Thanks." Lily whispered to Severus as she sat down.

"Oh, don't worry. They'll get detention too." Lily smiled at his protectiveness and completely missed the end of Dumbledore's speech. The feast passed quickly enough with amazing food as always and by the end Lily had gotten slightly accustomed to being gazed at by students. She also had taken pleasure in trying to make Severus smile as much as possible. It usually earned a response from the students in the form of whispers "Is Professor Snape _actually_ smiling?". Soon, Dumbledore bid them all a good night and the prefects ushered them all to their dorms.

"That was very cruel." Severus said finally being able to smile without the students around.

"Oh, come on. The students loved it!"

"Yes, I'm sure they love that all my dignity has gone out the window."

"Lighten up, Professor Snape." She said giggling. "You've got some moving to do and some sweets to eat." She said as they headed for her chambers.

"I'm too full. Do I have to eat?"

"Yes." Lily said with finality in her tone.

"When can I stop?"

"When you throw up." Severus sighed as he was once again led off to the Charms classroom by the only person he could never say no to.

* * *

**There it is, finally. I think I've actually typed probably 10 pages, but have deleted them all because they were total crap. Next chapter I actually have a plan for, which is probably why this one didn't go too smoothly. That one should be up later tonight or tomorrow, so keep an eye out! :) Ohhh yeaa, I do want to thank personally the "guest" review. Those ones I so frequently want to reply to, so if you're a guest reviewer, either freaking log in or get an account because I want to express my thanks!**


	8. Chapter 8

**So here's the second chapter for today! I really wanted to get this out, so here it is! Hope you guys are still enjoying and I'm grateful that you're putting up with the slowest moving story on the entire website. Bless your souls.**

**Disclaimer: Swiggity swag, I'm not Jo Rowling...and I can't rhyme either.**

* * *

Chapter 8

As Severus was led, not into Lily's personal chambers, but the actual Charms classroom, he realized just how much work he would have to be doing this evening.

"Yea, I know it looks like a lot, but it really isn't." Lily said quickly seeing Severus's face.

What Lily just said had been a total understatement. The entire room was filled with cardboard boxes of various items that were left by the previous teacher and things that the students would be using to practice charms on this year. The boxes were piled high and it was almost as if someone was trying to make a Hogwarts replica out of them, there were so many. All the desks and chairs that the students would need were piled in all four corners of the room.

"Lily, as of right now, you really don't have anywhere to teach." Severus said still dumbfounded.

"You think I don't know that? That's why I asked for your help." Lily said as she scooted past a pillar of boxes. "So, where do you think we should start?"

"Ok, um, we need to clear those desks away from that flat wall so we have somewhere to stack all these boxes. We'll slowly replace the spaces where the desks were with boxes. Sound good?"

"Great!" said Lily. "What's that look for?"

"What look?"

"The 'why-did-she-wait-till-now-look'?"

"Well, you do realize it is 8:00 the evening before classes start and you barely have any teachable space."

"Because I'm an extremely busy woman who has her own reasons for her severe procrastination." She said folding her arms and trying to be serious.

"Right "HUMF" of course." Severus said moving a very heavy box. He could already tell that he was going to be very sore tomorrow. As the night wore on they found all kinds of neat things, old things, and slightly questionable things in the boxes that sat so cluttered in the classroom.

"Ok, move that one to the left a little…no a little more…now back…ok perfect!" Lily said as Severus sat an enormous box down. The biggest he had moved all night.

"Lily, this could've been a lot easier if you would've just let me use magic." Severus said completely exhausted. His muscles ached, he was out of breath, and he still had to teach in the morning.

"That wouldn't have been very fun and plus I needed to sort things out by hand so I knew exactly where everything was." Lily said. She was just as tired as he was, having to sort through everything and rebox it. All that was left to do was reorganize the desks which before Lily could protest, Severus flicked his wand and they straightened out.

"Oops." He said as Lily gave him a slight glare.

"Come on. I could use a hot cup of tea and some of that treacle tart." Lily said motioning for him to head over to her chambers. Severus was eager to go with her, the feast had worn off and he was now starving. He sat down on the sofa with a huff as Lily bustled around and made tea. The desserts that were left here were arranged nicely on her small kitchen table and she picked at them mindlessly as she cleaned up a bit. Severus just sat and watched too tired to do anything else, but found Lily to be so intriguing when she was occupied by such simple things. _Is this how Potter has it? He can just sit around and have Lily making tea? I hope he bloody appreciates it. _He thought, but his slight jealousy was interrupted as Lily came in with two steaming mugs and some treacle tart. She sat down next to him, sat everything on the table, and sat back for a minute.

"Longest day ever, huh?"

"Definitely."

There was a moment of silence as they sipped their tea, before Lily broke it.

"Do you want to meet Harry?"

"Do I what?" Severus said even though he had heard her clearly the first time.

"Do you want to meet Harry sometime? I mean, he _is_ the boy you're risking your life for. If I were you, I'd want to know him."

"I mean- well I- I guess, yea, I'd want to meet him." Severus really didn't know what to say. He definitely wasn't going to say no, but he certainly knew her husband probably would.

"Sev, he's really sweet and the most perfect little boy ever, hardly ever whines (Severus scoffed slightly at that, but Lily didn't notice). I think he'd really like you."

"Like me? You seem to be forgetting who his father is?"

"And you seem to be forgetting who his mother is." Lily countered. "He's not James at all. Quite the opposite really. He may be a carbon copy, but certainly doesn't act like you'd expect a one year old James to act." Lily sighed. "I just think it'd be really nice. I _want_ Harry to know you. He knows all of James' friends, so why can't he know mine."

"Alright, but what will James think? He surely won't want me around him."

"It really doesn't matter what he thinks. His friends aren't much better. I mean Sirius is practically just a big kid." At that they both laughed. "It's true though! He comes to our house, him and James down a whole bottle of Brandy, and then he passes out on the couch or the floor, which ever is closest."

"Real classy."

"Aren't they always?" Lily said smiling. "So, how about over Christmas break, I bring Harry to the castle for a day. We'll deal with the security issue when the time comes, but I'll show him around and you two can bond."

"Keep dreaming."

"What?"

"I'm not _bonding_ with him."

"It'll be cute!"

"Lily, I'm not an advocate for cute." All of sudden they both were consumed with uncontrollable laughter, brought on by mostly exhaustion. They almost didn't realize that throughout their mindless small talk, they were drifting into a more comfortable position.

* * *

Lily was slowly woken up by a strange noise. It sounded vaguely like…a heartbeat? She lifted her head to realize that her head had been on Severus's chest, explaining the heartbeat. She saw that the rest of her was curled up next to him and his arm was draped over her shoulders. She quickly sat up right, knocking his arm off of her. This woke him up suddenly and he bolted up right just as Lily had done.

"What the-"

"Sev, we fell asleep! We fell asleep together!" Lily said worriedly. Had this been under any other circumstances, Severus would have been more than happy to hear those words from her, but now was not the time.

"Oh bloody hell! It's 1:30 in the morning!" Lily said. She had gotten up from the couch as was pacing the floor acting as though someone would've seen them sleeping.

"Right. Reasonable time to head back to my chambers." Severus said.

"Why are you acting so calm? Are you aware of what just happened?!"

"Umm, we accidently fell asleep on the couch after working for hours. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal? Sev, this looks terrible! You leaving a married woman's chambers at 1:30 in the morning! It makes _me_ look bad!"

"Lily, we didn't do anything, no one is around to care, we're fine." He really didn't understand why she was blowing this out of proportion.

"Dumbledore already thinks we're having an affair. Mad isn't he." Lily said finally sitting down.

"You shouldn't give damn what he thinks. Life will be a lot easier when you learn that." Severus said. "I guess I better head back to my chambers now. Give Dumbledore some more evidence of said affair."

"I guess." Lily said, glad that he was trying to make this a joke. "Thanks for the help."

"It was nothing. See you in the morning, Lily." Severus said as he left her chambers. As soon as the heavy wooden door shut, he broke out in the widest grin ever. He had just been in one of the most comfortable and desirable positions in his life. He couldn't help but wonder what James would think if he knew that Severus had just been "sleeping" with his wife.

* * *

When Lily saw the door shut behind Severus she went to go put her pajamas on and climbed into bed. It was then that she realized how truthfully comfortable she was curled up next to Severus and even a small part of her, dare she say it, wished he was still with her. Did that make her a horrible wife? Probably, but she did feel guilty about it, so that must mean something. It was just a mistake with a very reasonable explanation. But how would she feel if she saw James in that position with another woman? _I'd probably be ready to use every curse and hex I know._ _Severus is different though, he wouldn't want me _that_ way._ It had never even crossed her mind that Severus might want something romantic with her. Did it repulse her? _No._ But it was completely out of the question. She was happily married and, besides, she wouldn't give Dumbledore the satisfaction of being correct about some silly affair. Lily quickly dozed off thinking of James, Harry, and now, even Severus.

* * *

**Yep, so next chapter is the first day of teaching for the duo! I'm not really sure who was at Hogwarts at this time, like anyone that were specifically pointed out in the series, so most student's names will be made up! Unless anyone knows of any then please PM me and let me know! As always, reviews are greatly appreciated and make me want to right all the time (actually I still write regardless of reviews)! Happy reading, guys! (:**


	9. Chapter 9

**^I accidentally put a line up there and now I can't get it off! Anyways, hope you guys enjoy this chapter and thank you everyone for reviewing, favoriting, and following! I also want to thank Mad Library Scientist for an idea that I might be using later on! I'll let you know when I put the chapter up, what part was their's!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I'm not J.K. Rowling. Story of my life, guys.**

* * *

Chapter 9

Severus strode over to the group of students queuing outside his classroom and they quickly parted to allow him to open the door. _Double potions. Gryffindors and Slytherins. Third years. Perfect way to start the year. _He thought to himself sarcastically. All the students had soon settled down and taken their seats. They were old enough to know that Professor Snape had no patience with waiting for students to finish lingering conversation.

"Today you will all be making a Shrinking Solution. By third year standards, this potion is quite easy, so I expect it to be well made with no error." He lazily flicked his wand and the instructions and ingredients appeared on the blackboard. "I expect a bottled sample on my desk by the end of class. You may pair up and begin." The students shuffled to retrieve their ingredients and get started. They were all aware of the fact that two periods wasn't nearly enough time to finish the potion, let alone, have it be of sufficient quality, but none were brave enough to question their Professor's assignment. Snape sat down at his desk and thought about how Lily was doing right now. They had breakfast in the great hall together and much to Snape's surprise it wasn't at all awkward considering what had happened last night.

_*Breakfast earlier*_

*"Are you mad?" Snape asked cautiously as they sat at the staff table. He thought it strange that Lily hadn't yet brought up the events of last night.

"About what?" She said distractedly. She was eating her breakfast quite fast (probably out of nerves) and Severus had hardly touched his.

"About last night." He pressed on.

"Why would I be mad about last night?" She finally looked up at him.

"Because it seemed like that would be pretty high up on a list of "Things That Make Lily Mad"."

"Well if one thing _were_ to make me mad, it would be mentioning that there is a list of "Things That Make Lily Mad." Lily said smirking.

"So you aren't-"

"Sev, its fine. Honest." She said giving him a smile. "It was an accident."

_The only accident that's ever been in my favor._ He gave her a quick smile back. One that only she would catch.*

She had also told him this morning that her first class was a single period with Slytherin and Hufflepuff seventh years. _Merlin, help her._ _The seventh-year Slytherins are all too cheeky for their own good. Put them in a room with a new young teacher and Hufflepuffs and…maybe I should check up on her after this period._ His thoughts were interrupted by a set of students turning in a vial of potion. _They can't be done yet, can they?_ He checked his watch. _Wow, that went fast._

"Here you go, sir." Said Samantha Durstine, a Slytherin. She was standing next to a timid looking Gryffindor whom he recognized as Dylan Thorpe.

"You two worked together?" Severus tried to hide the disbelief in his voice. Slytherins and Gryffindors rarely paired up together in potions.

"Yes, sir." Samantha answered. He eyed them both questionably.

"Very well." He checked his watch again. "Considering there is still 10 minutes left I'll check your potion right now." He took out a piece of parchment and poured a drop of the potion on it. It immediately shrunk to the size of a small pebble. _Damn it, it's perfect_. "Well, it seems that you've done it sufficiently enough. Five points to Slytherin and…" He frequently gave house points to Slytherin, but never any to Gryffindor. He was now stuck between praising a Slytherin and disregarding a Gryffindor, but realizing he had no choice, "…and um…five to Gryffindor." The words sounded foreign coming out of his mouth. Both of their eyes widened in surprise and luckily none of the other students had heard.

"Well, you're dismissed." He said impatiently. They were still in quite a shock as they packed up their books and hurried out the door, whispering furiously. Soon the entire class had turned in their best attempt at a shrinking solution and left as quickly as they could, much to Snape's pleasure. Him and Lily both had a free period next and he wanted to find out how she was doing so far.

* * *

Lily was sitting at her desk marking a small quiz that she had given to her seventh-years. It was a basic quiz that most had no problem with, as she saw from the grades. She heard a knock on her door before it opened.

"Mr. Robinson, I believe you left something behind." She said without looking up. Severus gazed at her for a moment, thinking how well teaching suited her, before clearing his throat.

"Oh hi, Sev! Thought you were a first-year Ravenclaw I had second period who forgot his book." She said with a very cheerful voice.

"That's detention worthy, Professor." Severus said smirking.

"Maybe, but unlike you, I want my students to actually like me." Lily said rolling her eyes.

"So how goes the teaching?" He said sitting down across from her.

"Well, not too much trouble with the seventh-years. Just Slytherins being Slytherins and Hufflepuffs being Hufflepuffs." She sighed. "But my first-years I had last period were perfect!" She said, wanting to avoid him asking about first period, however, he knew she sighed for a reason.

"Ok, what happened?" He said meeting her eyes.

"Nothing. It was… nothing." She said looking away.

"_Who _was it?" Severus pressed on.

"Sev, I don't want to talk about it."

"Why?" He didn't mean to sound so pushy, but it was obviously making her upset.

"Because you'll over react. It was something I'm used to anyways." She got up put and started putting sheets of paper on the desks for her next class.

"Lily."

"Sev, you'll freak out." She said.

"I promise I won't."

She hesitated for a moment, "Alright, I got called a mudblood, but-"

"WHO THE BLOODY HELL SAID THAT!? I SWEAR WHEN I FIND OUT-" He stood up abruptly from the chair.

" I knew you'd freak out! But please, Sev, I already handled it." She said calmly. She walked over and pushed his shoulders down so he was sitting again and then pulled a chair over so that she was sitting in front of him.

"Listen, it was just a mumble, I gave him a proper piece of my mind and detention for a week."

"Lily, he _should_ be expelled."

"No, he's probably some pureblood kid who's been raised on the idea of mudbloods being awful. It's just something he has lived with his whole life. It's not worth losing the last year of his education over. Besides, you can imagine what I said to him after class." That brought a tiny smile to her face.

Severus smirked having many times been on the receiving end of Lily's spitfire anger. "I'd be willing to bet he'll probably never say it again."

"But if you do want to help him learn his lesson. Jake Greengrass. Seventh-year Slytherin."

"It _would_ be him, the insolent little prat. His family is close to the Malfoys."

"Well, that explains it. So is the ever terrible potion's master going to give him a hard time in class?" Lily said smirking.

"You think I won't?" Severus said scoffing. "It'll be hell."

"Sev, I think you're teaching techniques are rubbing off on me." She giggled.

"Oh, hardly."

"So, otherwise, my day has gone quite well. I do actually enjoy teaching."

"Well, that makes one of us."

Lily laughed, checking the clock, "Get out of my classroom, Professor Snape, I have a class coming in any minute now." She said standing up with mock sternness.

"Professor Potter, I do not appreciate your attitude." He said standing up about a foot taller. Right then, a group of fourth years came filing in through the door and saw their two professors standing almost chest to chest smiling at each other. Lily looked over at the students, then back at Severus, and then burst out in laughter. While Lily found the whole situation entertaining, Severus found it embarrassing. He knew everyone would hear about "Professor Snape actually _smiling _at Professor Potter.". He quickly strode out of the room while he still had his dignity and heard Lily still laughing while telling the students to find a seat. _First day back, I've given Gryffindor house points and been caught in a good mood with a smile on my face. And Lily thinks I'm rubbing off on her? More like she's rubbing off on me. Bloody hell. _He replaced the scowl on his face, got his snarky demeanor back in place, and pushed past the line of students outside his door.

* * *

**Ok, so I made up a few names of my own except the surname "Greengrass". It was on Jo Rowling's list of purblood wizarding families and I wanted to make this story as authentic as possible! This chapter honestly did not flow well, therefore, I apologize. I just didn't want it to drag on! I sometimes get writing and forget that people won't want to read a 7,000 word chapter! :P**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! So this chapter was a difficult one. I wasn't sure if I wanted to split this up into two short ones, or just throw it all together so we could get to the next chapter! In the end, I've decided to throw it all together, so we can get some plot movement! As always, thank you everyone who reviews! They make my day and boost my confidence in this story! It also makes me immensely happy that I'm not the only one who gets so excited over a Snily story!**

**Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling. I don't own Harry Potter. Tis the greatest tragedy of my life.**

* * *

Chapter 10

The long first day was over soon enough, much to the pleausres of both teachers and students. Everyone was more than happy to head off to dinner for the evening, being both hungry and tired.

"So I heard something interesting today." Said Lily as she was dishing food out onto her plate.

Severus looked up at her, "And what's that?"

"Well, the word around the castle is that earlier today, you gave points to Gryffindor."

"Shocking isn't it?" Severus said returning to his food.

"So, it's actually true?"

"It is, much to my dismay."

Lily smirked, "Glad to see you're softening up a bit."

Severus dropped his fork, "I am _not _softening up."

"Don't get so defensive, Sev. You may be able to fool You-Know-Who, but me on the other hand." She said, trying to playfully instigate him.

"Oh, well then, by all means, you should probably be the spy." He said smirking right back.

"Ha Ha." She said sarcastically. "So, I'm going to write James tonight."

"Good for you."

"And I'm going to see if he wouldn't mind Harry coming for a visit on Saturday."

Severus didn't say anything. "Sev, come on! It'll just be me, you, and Harry. I'm sure James won't even want to come and he could probably do with a break from Harry."

"Will it make you happy?" He asked.

"The happiest." She replied smiling. She knew he'd say yes now.

He sighed, "Then I suppose one day wouldn't be so-" He was quickly cut off by Lily throwing her arms around his shoulders.

"Oh, Sev, I'm so excited!" She said still hugging him. When she finally let go, Snape's face was a brilliant shade of red. Most of the great hall, including the teachers, sat in a stunned silence at the random display of affection. Severus sat looking mortified as Lily giggled at the unintentional embarrassment she had caused.

He cleared his throat nervously, "So, um, Saturday, what do you plan on doing?"

"Well, I have a floo in my chambers, so James will probably just floo in with Harry around 11, drop him off, and then leave. Then I was thinking we could have lunch in my chambers and then maybe take Harry for a walk around the grounds."

"And the students?"

"What about the students?"

"I think you're the only teacher that has ever had a one year old to parade around the castle. You don't think it will look weird that we're all together?"

"Well, unlike you, it doesn't bother me that the students _do_ see me as a human being or that they know something about my personal life. I suggest you learn to do the same."

"Lily, I'm a private person and I like to keep it that way."

"Whatever you say, Sev." She said as she finished up her plate.

"Are you heading back to your chambers?" Severus asked. _Why do I sound so damn clingy?_

"Yea, I've got some things to grade. Not to mention, I have a ton of rats that need to be turned _back_ into teacups for tomorrow's lesson. So, I'll see you in the morning, Sev." She said smiling.

He smiled back quickly, "Good night, Lily."

* * *

As Lily walked out of the great hall she ran in to Professor McGonagall, who was headed to back to her chambers too.

"Hello, Minerva." Lily said cheerily.

"Oh, hello, Lily! How was your first day, dear?" She said.

"It was great for the most part. Some tricky seventh-years, but nothing I couldn't handle."

"Of course, of course. I see you and Severus have recently become quite the duo. Always out and about. I'm assuming you to have reconciled?"

"Oh, yea, well, we thought it was for the best."

"It certainly is though. You don't realize how much he needs you, Lily." She said becoming a little more serious.

"Needs me?" Lily laughed slightly. "So far, it's me who has needed him. I'd be so lost with all the lesson plans and things if I didn't have him around constantly."

"Well, I'm sure he's helpful with those things, but that's not what I meant, dear. For the past year he's been so secluded and bitter. Never talking to the other teachers and hardly ever going for leisurely walks about the grounds. And now I've noticed he's smiling more, scowling less, and, from what I've heard, gave Gryffindor points today." She said with a small chuckle.

Lily laughed, "Well, I suppose I have rubbed off on him a bit. I think he really just needed a friend who understands him and I'm probably the only person on this planet that does."

"That's for sure. Just whatever you're doing to him, keep doing it, for all our sake." She said kindly. "Well, good evening, Lily."

"Same to you, Professor."

Lily walked back to her chambers pondering Minerva's words. _Does he really need me like Minerva thinks?_ She had never once thought that Severus would have any sort of dependency on her. He was always so self-governing even as a young kid and she couldn't imagine that she would have such an effect on him. One so substantial, that everyone else seemed to notice. When she reached her chambers she immediately sat down and began writing her letter to James, not wanting to put it off any longer:

_James,_

_Hey, love! I was wondering if maybe Saturday morning you could floo Harry to Hogwarts? Just so I could spend the day with him. I'm assuming Sirius has been wanting to have a boys night out with you, so here's his chance! Some of the teachers are really hoping to meet Harry and I miss him terribly (I miss you just the same, so maybe next weekend we'll have a date night, just the two of us?) Anyways, let me know soon! I love and miss you both!_

_Love, _

_Lily_

She sealed it and then headed off to bed, hoping that James would be up for her plans.

* * *

Severus left the great hall shortly after Lily. He stalked out, avoiding the gazes of the students, as they were still curious as to why their potion's master accepted a hug from their charms teacher. He reached his chambers soon enough, without confrontation from anyone, and once inside, he poured himself a glass of fire whiskey. Severus sat down on his small couch with his glass, loosening his tie before taking it completely off and throwing it as close to his bedroom door as possible. His thoughts were mostly plans of punishment for the Greengrass imbecile, but he also couldn't stop thinking about Saturday. _Perfect. I get to meet the baby that I hear death plans about all the time. I get to meet the living proof that Lily loves that filthy James Potter._ He felt the impervious pang of jealously that was always imminent when he thought of Potter. He hated him. If there was thing that Severus loved more than Lily, it was _loving_ to hate James Potter. Severus also had to admit that most of his hatred came from his infinite envy of him. _He has the perfect wife, a perfect son, a perfect bloody life._ What really hurt him most was knowing that James truly made Lily happy. The look in her eyes and the smile on her face whenever she mentioned him, made Severus' inside burn. He wished that for one day he could switch places with James and have him feel the deep pain of envy, while it was Severus who she talked about with such love in her voice. As Snape downed the last of his drink, he stripped down to his boxers and a t-shirt, climbed into bed, and slipped into a dream where he had _a perfect wife, a perfect son, a perfect bloody life._

* * *

The next four days passed easily for both Severus and Lily. Lily's excitement for Saturday was evident all week and she never missed an opportunity to bring it up. She had gotten permission from Dumbledore to open her floo and he thought that having Severus and Harry bond was a brilliant idea. Severus, however, was unnaturally nervous. He wasn't sure how his confrontation with James was going to go, considering Lily hadn't even told James that he was going to be with her. Severus thought it was a terrible idea, but she insisted that it might just be the best way to do things.

Lily looked out the window Saturday morning and was greeted with a torrential down-pour. _So much for taking Harry for a walk around the grounds. _She thought gloomily as she dressed in muggle clothes. She refused to wear her robes on the weekend, since she had to wear her uncomfortable teaching ones all week. At around 10:30 she heard a knock on her door.

"Come in!" She yelled.

"Good morning, Lily." Severus said. Lily turned around and was stunned. He was wearing muggle attire. Lily had mentioned it to him earlier in the week that Harry might think him less intimidating if he didn't wear his billowy black robes, but she never imagined that he'd actually take her advice. Though, here he stood, with dark jeans and a grey button-up collared shirt.

"Wow, um Sev, you look-"

"Ridiculous?" He said with his hands in his pockets.

"No, good. You look good." She said smiling at him. Severus couldn't help the tiny smile that broke out on his face from her compliment. He was really hoping he wasn't blushing like an idiot. She was the only person who could do a lot of unwanted things to him and blushing was one of them.

"Uhm, thanks, Lily." He noticed she dressed like a muggle as well. She wore a particularly low- cut blouse that made his heart race and jeans that, without fail, always made her look amazing. It again, was another outfit that tested his willpower to keep his eyes from wandering.

"So, James should be here with Harry any minute. He's planning on going out flying with Sirius today, on some charmed motorcycle, so we'll have Harry probably until late this evening. If I've told him once, I've told him a thousand times, it's dangerous to do that sort of stuff, but of course he doesn't listen. _You_ actually listen better than my own husband." She said motioning towards his clothes.

_Ha! That's only one of the_ many_ things that I can probably do a whole lot better than your husband._"I don't know. Have you taken a look outside lately? Not exactly perfect flying weather."

"Oh, they'll still fly. I just won't be there to clean up his wet clothes when he comes home. Which reminds me, I thought we could just stay in the castle today. I'm sure we'll find something to do." She said as she was bustling around putting random objects up somewhere high.

"What are you doing?" Severus asked in regards to her strange rearrangement.

"Oh, just sort of baby proofing the place. Harry always prefers things that are breakable over his own toys." Severus smiled slightly at her "mum" instincts kicking in. That's when he spotted the baking supplies sitting on her small kitchen table.

"Lily, what are those?"

"Baking supplies." Lily giggled as Severus gave her an unimpressed look.

"I'm aware of _that_, but what are they for?"

"Well, I thought that if it did rain, we'd need a backup plan, so I thought that we could bake a cake. The muggle way of course."_ Oh, no, no, no. Baking a cake? Why? Anthing but baking._ Before Severus could complain Lily had left the room to get something out of her classroom. It was then that Severus noticed the green flames start to appear in the floo. _You've got to be kidding me?!_ Seconds later out walked James Potter holding a small black-haired boy and carrying, what appeared to be a baby bag.

"Hey, Lil! We're h-" That's when he turned and noticed Severus.

They both stood, staring at each other, neither sure of what to do. Then, as though on instinct, they both pulled out their wands and pointed them at each other. That's when Lily walked in and gasped.

"James!"

"LILY!'

"MUMMY!"

* * *

**Hopefully you all could figure out who screamed what at the end :P I debated whether or not to end it like that, but I really couldn't think of anything better. Next chapter is already started and should be up tomorrow! (: Read on, my friends!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, guys! I want to thank everyone for their reviews, follows, and favorites! (And to the guest review, Yes, I do know that you love me!) Anyways, this chapter took the entire day. I just kept writing it on and off. In between I was watching the Royal Baby stuff! Yay for William and Kate! Might as well add the baby to my non-stop list of people I wish I was! So, back on topic, I use the word "sippy cup" to refer to the cups with lids on them that little kids drink out of. I'm not sure if they're called something different in other countries, but in case you didn't know, that's what they are. Other than that, I hope you guys enjoy! (:**

**Disclaimer: Not J.K. Rowling. I don't make money. I don't own Harry Potter. I hate having to admit all of that.**

* * *

Chapter 11

"LILY, WHAT THE HELL IS SNIVELLUS DOING HERE!?" James yelled, with Harry in one arm and his wand fully extended toward Severus in the other. Severus, however, quickly realized how this may look and against everything he had ever learned from being bullied for so long, he put his wand down. He knew that Lily would not appreciate him pointing a wand, not at her husband, but at her son.

"James, stop! Before I say anything I need YOU to put your wand away!" Lily said with her hands on her hips. James clearly had no intention of putting away his wand. She looked at James impatiently, waiting for him to make a move. Lily knew the only thing that kept James from not jinxing Severus right on the spot was the fact that he still had Harry in his arms.

"NOW!" Lily yelled. It made both of them jump and James lowered his wand very slowly, but did not put it away.

"Thank you." Lily breathed. "Now, James, give me Harry." Lily said trying to keep everyone calm.

"No!" Lily was startled at his sharp answer. "Lily, I want to know why this git is hanging about in your chambers. He's only a bloody Death Eater!" James yelled. Lily looked at him obviously trying to mask her building fury and Severus just remained quiet. He knew that anything he had to say probably wouldn't make the situation much better.

"James, listen to me, please. Severus works here at Hogwarts."

"Oh, doing what?! Death Eater recruitment?" Lily was becoming more and more annoyed with James.

"No, he teaches potions." She said as she walked over to James and gently lifted Harry out of his arms. "Now, James, there are some things that I need to discuss with you, but you just have to _trust_ me when I tell you that Severus is now no more a Death Eater than I am." Lily was slowly walking over towards Severus. She kissed the top of Harry's head and set him down on the couch next to Severus.

"Lily, you really can't be serious about this! Are you not even thinking about Harry's safety?" James pressed on.

"Yes, I am! Harry's safety is the _only_ thing I think about and that is why I know that I can trust Severus with him." James rolled his eyes.

"Lily, please, see some reason." James said, calming down slightly.

"I am. And I suggest you do too."

"And what evidence do you have that I should even _think_ about trusting him?" James said crossing his arms over his chest.

"Come with me." Lily said outstretching her hand to James.

"Where?"

"Just over to my bedroom. I want to talk to you for a second."

"And leave Harry here? With him?" James motioned in disbelief at Severus and Harry on the couch. Harry was sitting playing happily with his toes next to a rigid Severus, who hoped that the boy wouldn't ask to be held, played with, or anything else that might involve him communicating with the one-year old.

"James." Lily said in a menacing tone and James quickly took her hand and followed her to her room where she shut the door behind them. Severus couldn't believe that Lily had just left her son here with him. He stole a glance over at Harry who looked up at him with curiosity. He was met with green eyes that he knew unbelievably well. While Severus looked away, Harry kept on staring at the strange man he was sitting next to. Snape was slightly uncomfortable, mostly because he just assumed young children would dislike him, but Harry seemed to be fine. _Should I say something? Has he learned to talk? What if he starts crying? _

"Uhm, hello, uh, Harry." _He's a baby. Not the bloody Dark Lord. Why are you stuttering?_

"Mummy!" He said pointing towards the door she had just left through. _Ok, so he can't talk much. Should I reply? Should I just look away and ignore him?_

"Uh, yes, your mother is in there."

"Dada?" Harry asked, again pointing towards the door.

"Yes, he's there too."

Harry then rolled on to his stomach and slid off the couch until his feet reached the floor. He took a small step away from the couch and looked over at Severus again. _Where does he think he's going? Can he even walk well?_ His question was soon answered when Harry started to pitter-patter over to the bag which James had left sitting on the floor. Severus quickly got up and followed him. _Why can't you just stay on the couch for crying out loud? _Harry then stopped when he reached the bag and tried his best to unzip it. When he couldn't do it, he looked up at Severus with his big green eyes, hoping that maybe he would help him. Snape crouched down next to Harry and opened the bag for him. Harry quickly began rooting around in the bag is if he was looking for something specific. He finally reached what he wanted and pulled out a sippy cup that was full of juice. Harry smiled and sat himself down on the floor with his cup. _Good, now just stay there. No more wandering around._ Harry took quite a few, rather large, gulps from his juice before holding it out towards Severus. _Ok, what are you doing? You think I'm going to drink that?_

"No, thank you, Harry." Severus said in the softest tone he could muster. _As if you even understood what I just said. _As Harry sat happily drinking his juice and playing with a toy owl that he had also taken from the bag, Severus thought about what Lily was saying to James. He knew that she probably thought she could have James' attention better if he wasn't in the room. Severus just prayed that Potter wouldn't convince her to make some radical decision to quite teaching and go home. His thoughts were soon interrupted by James opening the bedroom door and walking out with an expressionless face. Lily followed and she gave Severus a tiny smile.

"Mummy!" Harry noticed Lily walk in, so he promptly stood up and made his way over to her. He reached his hands up, begging for her to hold him.

"How's my baby boy?" Lily said as she picked Harry up and hugged him. She then walked over, with Harry in her arms, and said, "Well, what do you have to say, James?"

"Um, thank you." James said facing Severus. The words seemed somewhat forced, but there was some detectable emotion behind them. "For protecting my family. It's very…brave of you." Severus didn't really know what to say. The man who had taken everything he'd ever wanted from him and made his life hell was now thanking him. Severus stole a glance at Lily who was smiling at the two of them. James then outstretched his hand (probably only because Lily told him to) and Severus shook it briefly (only because Lily would hate him if he didn't).

"I just did what was right." Severus replied. James nodded and walked over to Lily and Harry.

James took a deep breathe in and said, "So, I guess I'll be off then." He gave Harry a small hug. "Be a good boy for your mum." He said as he ruffled his already messy black hair. "Bye, sweetheart." He said as he hugged Lily and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. She whispered something in his ear and he smiled slightly. _Thank god._ Severus thought. He didn't think he could stand much more affection between James and Lily without having a bout of raging jealousy. James then walked over to the floo and gave his family a goodbye wave. The flames engulfed him and he was gone. Severus felt like he could finally relax now and he turned around to Lily.

"So, you made him thank me?"

"No. I told him what you did for us and it was his idea to thank you. He was really surprised and grateful for what you'd done." Lily said shifting Harry to her other hip.

"Is he ok with you- I mean teaching?" He asked nervously.

Lily giggled slightly, "Yes, Sev. He's fine with it. Not 100% thrilled about it, but he'll get over it. He did, however, mention that if you try to pull anything with me, that he'll hunt you down and well…you can probably guess what he'd do." Lily said amusedly.

"Charming." Snape said sarcastically.

"So, did you and Harry get along fine?"

"Uh, yes."

"Did you tell him your name? Hey, Harry, this is Sev. Can you say that? Sev." She said looking at Harry and pointing to Severus.

"Sev!" Harry squealed quite clearly.

"Good job!" Lily said smiling and giving him a kiss. "He's getting so much better at talking."

"He seems to be able to walk quite well."

"Oh yea, he learned to walk really early. Now I can never get him to sit still!"

"Sev!" Harry squealed again, but this time he outstretched his arms wanting to be held Severus now instead of Lily.

"Ok, ok!" Lily laughed. "I'm sure Sev we'll hold you." She then hoisted Harry into Severus' arms. Harry giggled and took the small toy owl he had in his hand and put it right next to Severus' face.

"Hoot!" Harry yelled.

"Yes, indeed, Harry. Owls do 'hoot'." Snape said smiling at how surprisingly pleasant Harry seemed to be.

"So, what do you boys think about a walk around the castle?" Harry clapped and Severus started handing Harry back to Lily as they headed out the door.

"Oh no, Sev. Do you really think I want to carry Harry all around the castle? You can do that."

"Great." Severus said sarcastically.

The trio spent a good hour walking up and down the countless corridors that gripped Harry with fascination. He especially enjoyed the moving portraits and Peeves, who sent him into a fit of giggles every time he swooped down to pull a funny face. Many students were out and about too, but none said anything about the one-year old or why Severus was with him. When they finally got back to Lily's chambers, Harry's eyelids were fighting to stay open, as he was slowly starting to fall asleep in Snape's arms.

"Sev, will you just go in and set him on my bed. I already put up charms earlier to make sure he won't fall off." Snape laid Harry down on the bed, covered him up, and set his juice cup on the night stand next to him.

"Thanks. I guess Hogwarts is a lot for a one-year old like him to take in." Lily said sitting down on the couch. Severus sat down in the chair opposite her.

"It's a lot for anyone to take in." He replied. "And I guess you _were_ right."

"What do you mean?"

"That Harry is actually well-behaved and nice to be around. I might even say he is quite…cute."

"I knew you'd think so." Said Lily beaming.

"Except he looks a hell of a lot like Potter."

"Well, that's for sure. But I think he acts more like me."

"Oh, definitely." _Thank Merlin he is more like you and less like Potter._

"So are you gonna help me bake that cake or what?" Lily said standing up and heading towards the kitchen.

"While Harry's asleep?"

"Severus, he'd be way more trouble than he would be help." Lily said giggling.

"Right. Lily, you do know I despise baking?"

"Then by all means, go potion us up a cake and we'll see whose tastes better." She said smirking at him. Severus just shook his head and smiled as Lily started putting ingredients in a bowl. Even though he hated baking, it allowed him for at least a few hours, to pretend that _this_ was his life. Baking with Lily and a small boy sleeping the other room. This was as close to perfection as he was going to get, so he had no intention of taking any second of it for granted.

* * *

**Okay, so next chapter will probably be a short one of the whole baking thing. I have some good, cute, fluffy, Snily stuff planned for it! I would just skip over it all and just go right into Harry going home and back to the regular week, but I really want to get this stuff in there! Make the relationship blossom! :P As always, review, follow, favorite, or do none, I don't really care! (:**


	12. Chapter 12

**So, like I said in the last chapter, this chapter is sort of a ****"filler". It's mostly just some fluff and not much goes on, but I, for some reason, really wanted to put this in here. The next chapter should be up like either tonight or tomorrow morning, so don't be too disappointed that not much goes on. Also, to all who reviewed saying that James shouldn't be trusted and that he'll tell his friends and blow Severus's cover, I wouldn't worry too much about that. Something is going to happen later that will...well...I don't want to say too much, but I'm just telling you that it isn't going to affect anything :P**

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Chapter 12

"Okay, so we need ¾ cup of butter." Lily said sliding her finger meticulously down the recipe.

"Already got that." Severus said looking over her shoulder, steadily stirring most of the ingredients in a metal bowl. He would have already put a stirring charm on the spoon by now, but Lily swiftly took his wand and put it in her back pocket, telling him that they don't need magic to bake a simple cake.

"And 3 eggs?" She said looking up at him.

"Already have that too."

"Ok, I can see I'm being a huge help." Lily said sarcastically.

Severus walked over to Lily with the bowl in his arms and glanced at the recipe. "I think we still need 2 1/3 cups of flour."

Lily grabbed the bag of flour, "And this is why you're the potion's master." She smirked. She cut open the bag and measured the flour out into cups. As she turned around, with the cup in her hand, she ran right into Severus, who had also turned around at the same time. The flour dumped in a powdery mess all down the front of him with some of it ending up on his face, but most of it ending up on his clothes.

"Don't you _dare_ laugh." Severus said standing completely still.

Lily covered her mouth slightly trying to conceal her grin, "I am so sorry." She said very slowly. Severus reached in his pocket for his wand, to clean the flour off, forgetting that Lily still had it in her back pocket.

"My wand, please." He said outstretching his hand. Lily shook her head.

"So, you're not going to give me my wand?" He asked raising his eyebrows. Again she shook her head.

"Ok, then. You leave me with no choice." He said calmly. Lily was slowly backing away as she saw what he was doing. He had grabbed the entire bag of flour and was walking towards her.

"Oh, no, Severus Snape, you stay away from me!" She said as she was standing on one side of the table and he was on the other.

"Or what, Lily?" He said smirking. She then brandished both wands, one in each hand.

"Is this a good enough answer?" She said raising her eyebrows.

Severus scoffed, "Oh, use them, I beg you." Then as quickly as he could Snape threw the open package of flour across the table and ducked under the table. Lily, being prepared for him to do something, cast a stinging hex from her wand as soon as he had thrown the bag and followed suit, ducking under the table as well. The bag collided with the hex in mid-air, causing the bag to explode in a fury of white. The flour had consumed the room in a thick cloud and neither Lily nor Severus could see more than 6 inches in front of them. As the flour settled onto every surface in the room, Lily and Severus slowly stood up from their crouching positions and looked at each other from across the table. They were both caked in flour except for where their eyes were. Lily couldn't supress it any longer and was soon doubled over in intense laughter. Severus too started to smile and began to laugh as well.

"This is all your fault." Severus said between laughs. He had slowly sat down in front of the sink with his back against the cupboards. Lily walked over to him, her abdomen already sore from laughter, and sat down next to him on the powdery floor.

"And how is this any more my fault than yours?" She asked.

"Because you brought magic into it. I believe your exact words at the beginning of our baking endeavor were 'Oh, let's not use magic. Let's do it the muggle way.'" Severus said imitating her voice.

"Only in self-defense!" Lily remarked

"Yes, because when someone wields a package of flour at you, by all means, start hexing away."

"Oh, shut up." She mumbled with a smile.

"So who's going to clean this up?" Severus said looking over at Lily.

"You are."

"No, you are."

"Mummy!" Resounded in Harry's voice from the other room, alerting any adult that he was awake and because of the charms had put around the bed, he couldn't get out himself.

"Nope, look like _you_ are." Lily said as she quickly got up to tend to Harry. Severus shook his head grinning and picked up his wand that had been abandoned in the chaos of exploding flour. He wiped it off with his hands and cast a cleaning charm on the whole kitchen. The place returned to its normal cleanliness, though there were still some scant amounts of flour crammed into tiny crevices around the room. When Lily returned, she was carrying Harry and had obviously cast a cleaning spell on herself as well. All the flour had disappeared from her clothes though, just like the kitchen, small traces were left behind in her hair.

"Nice job, Sev." She said looking around. Severus had also cleaned himself as well, rendering his muggle clothes, spotless.

"Well, somebody had to clean your mess up."

"Ha Ha." She said sarcastically.

"Mummy! Cake!" Harry squealed from Lily's arms. Both of them glanced over at the half-finished vacated bowl of batter.

"I suppose we should just get some cake from the kitchens?" She said.

"Yes, that would be a good idea." Severus said. The rest of their day passed with pleasantness as the three of them sat and at cake (from the Hogwarts kitchens) till their stomachs hurt. Around 8 o'clock, Severus left Lily's chambers, preferring not to be there when James came to pick Harry up. He wasn't too particularly fond of watching the subtleties of the more than satisfactory life-style that the Potters led. He had given a quick goodbye to Lily, no doubt seeing her tomorrow anyways, and said goodbye to Harry, who had already learned to call him "Sev". _What do you think of that James bloody Potter? Your son takes as much liking to me as your wife does. Isn't that nice? _Even though they had "made up" the hatred and bitterness was still there, and it would _always_ be there no matter what happened.

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**This chapter was pretty fun to write and this light-hearted stuff will be needed for what's up ahead! Anyways, on a more personal note, if you have a Tumblr and are a huge fan of Harry Potter (like me), then you should follow my fan blog 30secondstohogwarts. I also post a lot of Doctor Who and just generally amusing things! If you do follow me, don't be shy to message me and let me know that you read my story! I'd be happy to hear from you all! (:**


	13. Chapter 13

**Ok, guys, so this chapter is quite eventful! I hope you enjoy it and it will (of course) lead into another eventful chapter! I've been working on it all evening because I promised to get it up to you guys today! As always, thank you for the reviews, favorites, and follows! (:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I am not J.K. Rowling. We just want to keep rehashing that, don't we?**

* * *

Chapter 13

The second week of school went by, somewhat easier, than the first. Everyone had adjusted to their own daily routine, including Severus and Lily. They would meet down in the great hall before their classes to eat breakfast, and then if they weren't too busy, Severus would walk to Lily's classroom and visit with her during their free period. In the evening, they would eat dinner together, and within the last few days, had gotten accustomed to also going to Severus's chambers to talk more, after dinner. They were excellent conversationalists and could talk for hours about any subject imaginable. The deep discussions were also constantly sprinkled with playful banter, for which they matched each other evenly, remark for remark. Though they could fashion the wittiest phrases, it was sometimes their silence that they both craved. They could easily sit down in the dungeons and read, uninterrupted. This routine had yet to become monotonous, for it kept Severus in a perennially good mood and Lily from missing her family. It was a rainy Thursday evening and Severus and Lily had already made their way, out of habit, down to Severus's chambers after dinner. Severus was sitting in his usual chair while Lily had taken up the couch. The fire was crackling in the fireplace, the flames illuminating the room.

"So, the Malfoys have a son you said? About Harry's age?"

"Yes. Draco, I believe his name is. It's most unfortunate really."

"And why's that?"

"Well, he'll be raised under the two most prejudiced pure-blood witch and wizard around. Not to mention the _rest_ of his family aren't much better."

Lily scoffed, "That's for sure. The Malfoys on his dad's side and the Blacks on his mum's side. I don't mean to judge, but he'll probably be a Death Eater before he even gets to Hogwarts."

"Yes, his blood-line is rather dark, but it's the environment he's being raised in that's even worse." Severus frequently had Death Eater meetings at the large Gothic manor and found it to be a grim place.

"Ah, yes, the infamous Malfoy Manor." Lily said. She had frequently heard James and Sirius talk about it. They always joked about how if they put together their fortunes, they could out-do old Lucius by a mile. "I'm supposing you've been there? Wouldn't that be where all those Slytherin cronies meet up."

"Well, Death Eaters, would be a more proper term for them today, but yes, that's where they congregate. It's large, hard to find, and heavily protected by numerous enchantments. God damn near perfect for…" Severus trailed off.

"For what?"

"I can't- I shouldn't be-"

"It's fine, Severus. Besides, I think I have a pretty good idea of what you were going to say." Lily said getting up to get another cup of tea. "So what's he like?" Lily said leaning up against a counter in the kitchen.

"Who?" He replied, getting up to refill his cup as well.

"Voldemort." Lily said matter-of-factly. Severus flinched at the name. Lily usually never used his name, but when she was in the right mood she didn't really care.

"Well, he's bloody demanding. As you can imagine. He's also very analytical. When you're under his gaze you can't hide _anything_. He sees through every façade, every movement, every word that you speak. He'll mentally rip you apart till he has you as vulnerable as he can get you."

"How charming." Lily said rolling her eyes.

"Why so interested?"

"Because I want to know my enemy. Know the bastard who seems to want my son so bad." Lily continued drinking her tea, when Severus checked the time.

"Damn it! I am supposed to meet Dumbledore in five minutes."

"No problem. I've got a nice thick stack of tests to grade this weekend and a head start tonight wouldn't hurt at all." Severus walked Lily up to her chambers, bid her a goodnight, and then headed up to Dumbledore's office.

"Come in." Dumbledore chimed in response to Severus's knock. He walked right over to the chair across from Dumbledore, one he so frequently sat in.

"I hope I didn't disturb anything important. I did tell you about our meeting yesterday, so you'd have time to make arrangements."

"I understand and, no, Headmaster, you didn't disturb anything."

"Were you with Lily?" His blue-eyes questioned with complete interest.

"Yes." Severus replied shortly.

"Where were you?"

"In my chambers." Severus said, becoming agitated.

"What were you-"

"I can't imagine how any of this is relevant, Dumbledore." Severus said crossly. He could not stand the amount of nosing around that Dumbledore did, particularly when it came to his relationship with Lily.

"Of course you are right, it has not relevance to why I called this meeting, but it does however intrigue me how much time you two spend together. One can only wonder-"

"Wonder what? That we _do_ actually just sit and talk or read. I don't mean to burst this little fantasy of yours that Lily and I are having some forbidden affair, but she is _not _some promiscuous tramp and I'm not a bloody home wrecker." Severus said, not caring about losing his temper.

"I never implied such things." Dumbledore said in a soft tone (at which Severus scoffed). "But what I do wonder, is how this may be affecting your Occulemency."

"How would it?"

"Well, with your noticeable increase in happiness, the ability to block emotion may become trickier than before. It may be hard to keep Lily, and all the memories that go with her, somewhere safe in your mind, as you begin to collect more and more." Severus merely nodded before he felt a dreadfully familiar burning sensation on his forearm. Dumbledore noticed him tense up and quickly glance at his arm.

"He's calling you?"

"Yes. It's the first time in at least a week."

"Well, go on then and be careful." Dumbledore said sincerely.

Severus quickly left the grounds of Hogwarts and apparted to Malfoy Manor. His shoes making an echoing sound on the gravel beneath his feet as he made a sort of salute before walking through the ominous wrought iron gate. He saw the familiar face of Mulciber up ahead.

"Any idea what he wants?" Mulciber said in his low monotone voice. Severus shook his head. He needed to concentrate on his mental preparedness, not mindless small-talk with his fellow Death Eater. They both entered through the main entrance of the manor and headed upstairs to the main dining room that was tailored specifically for the meetings. They entered the room through double doors and the mood of the room was not yet so heavy, ascertaining that the Dark Lord had yet to arrive. However, Severus noticed upon entering, that only the members of the Dark Lord's inner circle had shown up. He knew now that this meeting was going to be extremely important and would probably be one of confidential information. Of course the Malfoys were there, as well as the Lestranges, Yaxley, Fenrir Greyback, Augustus Rookwood, Antonin Dolohov, Walden McNair, Crabbe, Goyle, and Regulus Black. As Severus strode further into the room he noticed someone over to the corner of the room, cowering slightly.

"Ah, Severus, how have you been?" Lucius said walking over, with a large grin, to Severus. He carried two drinks and handed one to Snape.

"Very well, thank you. And you?"

"Alright, I suppose. Draco has been a handful as of lately. We constantly have to have Dobby watching over him." As Lucius went on about the unpleasantness of fatherhood, Severus was still trying to figure out who was in the corner.

"Lucius, you wouldn't happen to know why this meeting was called, would you? Don't you think the Dark Lord ought to be here by now?"

"No, I don't. He was here earlier though. Seemed mighty pleased with himself and said that tonight he had special plans. He also dropped off that tosser over there." He pointed towards the unrecognizable man.

"Who is he?" Severus said trying to sound only vaguely interested.

"Peter Pettigrew, I believe his name is. He's been twitchy and recluse all evening. Of course, we don't know why he's here. The Dark Lord said he had his reasons and would explain them to us later." Severus barely heard the rest of Lucius's sentence as felt his stomach drop when he heard the name. Of course, Severus knew Peter to be one of Potter's worshipers, practically kissed the ground he walked on, but as of lately he cropped up frequently in his conversations with Lily. She had mentioned more than once, that Peter was their secret-keeper as of recent. They changed at the suggestion of Sirius Black and Severus hadn't though much of it until now. His palms began to sweat and he swallowed hard. _He's got to be here for a reason. Either he is going to be tortured for information or…he already has._ Severus hoped that it wasn't the latter. _I need to tell Dumbledore he was here, soon._ As Severus made his way through all of his fellow Death Eaters, the apparentness of the Dark Lord's absence became greater. It was now nearing midnight and he had yet to make an appearance. Him not showing up didn't really bother anyone else, but worried Severus.

"Lucius, you don't mind if I step outside for a moment? Just for some air."

"Of course not." Lucius said, returning to his conversation with Dolohov.

As Severus stepped out into the cool night air his tension and worry only mounted. _I need to get back to Hogwarts or at least contact Dumbledore soon. Peter being here cannot be a good sign at all. _The only thing that relieved some of his stress was that he knew for a fact that Lily was in no danger. _As long as she's at the castle, she'll be ok._ Severus took a large breathe in and rolled up his sleeves, hoping that cooling off more would calm him down. As he rolled them up he noticed something odd about his Dark Mark. It was considerably less prominent and dark as it had been only hours ago. It was actually the faintest Severus had ever seen it. He quickly turned back into the manor and ascended the steps to the dining room. He beckoned Lucius over to him at which Dolohov followed him too.

"Have you seen this?" Severus said as he lifted his sleeve.

"I'd say it's your dark mark, mate." Dolohov said sarcastically. Lucius and him laughed, but Severus continued on.

"Shut the hell up. I'm talking about how faint it is. It's hardly even there." At that, Lucius seemed to become more interested. He rolled up his sleeve and checked his, Antonin doing so as well, and they both noticed that theirs were faded too.

"That's odd. They've never done that." Lucius said quizzically.

"Yes, well, I have class in the morning, as the Dark Lord is well aware and should probably be on my way." Severus said. He knew that the Dark Lord greatly respected and appreciated his position at Hogwarts and would not be offended by his early departure.

"I'll make him aware that you did show up and waited as long as possible." Lucius said.

"Thank you." Severus replied as he left the manor and walked out into the chilly air for a second time. He quickly apparated outside of Hogwarts grounds and dashed up to the castle. As he reached the door of Dumbledore's office, he heard muffled sobs and Dumbledore's caressing voice. Severus raised a fist in preparation to knock, when the door was thrust open by Professor McGonagall, who looked completely distraught in her night gown. She looked Severus straight in the eye with a devastated and horrified look. The words out of her mouth confirmed what Severus had feared all evening.

"They were attacked."

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**So, how many of you are hating me right now? I wouldn't be surprised if you all were. That's an evil cliffhanger, but the next chapter will be up soon! So just hang in there, my friends! (:**


	14. Chapter 14

**Here it is! I've been working on it on and off all day! When I wasn't writing I was reading. I happened to finish Jo's new book "The Cuckoo's Calling" and I have to say it was pretty good! But, back to the story, I do use the f-word once. I felt it was appropriate given the situation and how the character was feeling. So, that's why the rating has gone up to T! I'm also so glad that you guys are enjoying my story as much as you are. I had the first chapter written back in January, but never got the courage to post it until a few weeks ago. Now I'm wishing I would have done so a lot earlier! Anyways, thank you for reading and enjoy! (: **

**Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling. I don't make any money off of this. It's a tiny bit depressing, but I'll live.**

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Chapter 14

Those three words hit Severus like a train. They were so dreadfully vague, but in the same sense, explained everything. He knew something had happened, but by the look on Minerva's face, he had no idea just how bad it was. Severus had never seen her in such a state of pure vulnerability. As he stood there in the open door way Minerva moved to the side, so Severus could come in. He saw Dumbledore hunched over someone sitting in a chair. She was eliciting sobs of pure pain. Dumbledore turned around and saw Severus standing there.

"Severus." At Dumbledore's voice, Lily turned around to face them. Her face was puffy and streaked with the trails of dried tears and her eyes were as red as her hair. In that moment, she didn't need to say anything. Severus was over to her in seconds, kneeling down in front of her. He immediately pulled her entire body to his and hugged her in such a way that there was no space between them. Lily clung to his robes as if her life depended on it and started crying again. Cries that shook her entire body and shook Severus's too. He had never seen his happy cheerful Lily in a state as dependent and full of despair as she was right now. As her head was on his shoulder, Severus looked up at Dumbledore. He still had no idea what had happened and hoped that maybe Albus would say something.

"Lily, my dear." Dumbledore said, putting his hands on her shoulders. She wasn't facing him as her entire face was still buried in Severus's shoulder. Severus gently took Lily's hands so she was now looking up at him. She turned to Dumbledore, still gripping Severus's hands as though he might suddenly disintegrate into a cloud of smoke.

"Lily, Severus needs to know." Dumbledore said in a tone so soft, you could hardly believe it came out of him. She silently nodded and sat back down in the chair with Severus still holding her hand.

"The Fidelius charm was broken this evening and James and Harry were attacked." Dumbledore said with heaviness in his voice. It made the room feel like it was closing in on everyone. Tears rolled down Lily's cheeks again, glistening on her cheeks by the fire. Severus motioned to Dumbledore that maybe they should discuss this without Lily and he nodded. Severus crouched down next to Lily again and whispered in her ear "I'll be right back." She was reluctant to let his hand go, but he squeezed once more tightly and left the room.

"I want to know everything, Dumbledore." Severus said once they were outside his office. Severus cast Muffliato, so no one else could hear them.

"I'll tell you as much as I know. With you being the Death Eater, however, I thought you could maybe fill in some of my blanks." Severus nodded for him to continue.

"Not too long after you left my office this evening, I was alerted that the Fidelius charm on the Potter's cottage had been broken. The charm notifies whoever cast it, when it gets broken." Dumbledore added, knowing that Severus would ask how he knew. He also noticed that Severus's face showed pure malice and contempt mixed with rage.

"Peter fucking Pettigrew." Snape spat.

"You know he was the secret keeper?"

"Yes, I did! I also saw the bastard tonight at the Death Eater meeting! First time he's ever been there and he was acting extremely nervous." Severus said quickly

"Yes, well it seems he had betrayed them. Of course, Voldemort would not want to waste any time, knowing that someone would be alerted to the broken charm. He showed up in Godric's Hollow alone and completely undetected." Severus just wanted him to hurry up. He needed to know what happened. "I apparated there as soon as I could. There was no time to call anyone from the Order. The entire door was blown off and as I stepped inside the entire corridor was destroyed. I could see that James had obviously tried to duel him, to the best of his abilities, up the stairs, so that's where I went. I followed the trail of destruction to the nursery." Severus's heart was pounding in his chest and he felt sick. "Severus, you're not going to believe this, but James was lying there dead on the floor, little baby Harry in his cot-" Severus took a deep breathe in. "-crying, and Voldemort was nowhere to be found." Severus was caught between disbelief and slight relief. He couldn't deny that he was hoping that Harry had managed to come out alive, despite the odds, but what really caught his attention was Voldemort's disappearance.

"What are your theories as to how all of this happened? How did the boy manage to survive?" Severus said in a shaky voice.

"Well, it was something Voldemort did not foresee. He went to Godric's Hollow with the intention of killing Harry and Harry alone. Since Peter Pettigrew was the one who gave Voldemort the location of the Potter's, I'm sure Voldemort offered something in repayment. I'm almost certain that Peter requested him to spare James." None of this even remotely made sense to Severus yet. "Voldemort, in honor of his promise, would have insisted that James step aside, of course we both know that James would _not_ allow his son to die in front of him. He willingly sacrificed himself, threw himself between the killing curse and his son, which evoked a rare magic. One that is responsible for Harry's survival tonight." Severus's mind was swimming. _Did that mean- Could that mean that the Dark Lord is gone?_

"So, James is dead, Harry is alive, and the Dark Lord is…" Severus said very slowly.

"Gone. I believe for the time being." Dumbledore said. "James sacrifice rendered Harry untouchable, so when Voldemort cast the killing curse, it simply rebounded off of Harry and struck Voldemort. I guess you could say he truly got "a taste of his own medicine"." Finished Dumbledore, trying to lighten the mood in any way he could.

"Where's Harry now?" Severus said with so much concern in his voice that it surprised even him.

"He's back in my office. He's sleeping in a cot. Though, he didn't escape completely unharmed, he has a pretty nasty cut on his forehead. Dittany has proven ineffective on it." Severus nodded still stunned at tonight's events.

"And Lily? Who told her?"

"I did. You can imagine how she reacted."

'Where are her and Harry going to go?"

"Nowhere, my boy. Hogwarts is by far the safest place for them to be right now. Both emotionally and physically."

"Should I-"

"Severus, I need you to promise me that you'll treat Lily with caution. You _are_ who she needs most right now, but she may become distant. I ask that you keep her from doing that. She needs to be here for Harry and for herself."

"Of course, Headmaster."

"Now if you'll excuse me, I must go to the Ministry and sort out what has happened this evening with the Minister." Dumbledore said putting a hand on Severus's shoulder. "Just be there for her. She'll appreciate it later." Dumbledore then apparated right on the spot. Severus had forgotten to tell him all about the fading Dark Mark, but he was sure Dumbledore knew that was bound to happen anyways. He slowly entered the office again. He noticed this time the cot that sat on the other said of Lily's chair. He saw Harry's wild black hair sticking out of a blanket and his soft sleeping face illuminated by the fire. Lily's hand was reached down and resting on Harry's chest, as if she didn't believe he was actually breathing.

"Severus, I suppose I'll go now. You have her in good hands." Minerva said giving a sad smile. She obviously wanted to be alone to mourn James. She had always had a sweet spot for him when he was a student. When she left, the room seemed eerily quiet. Lily was no longer crying, but just staring into the fire, emotionless, as if she had no more tears to cry. Severus pulled up a chair perpendicular to her's. She glanced up at him with glassy green eyes and her eyelashes were matted with dried tears. In some sense, Severus thought she looked simply beautiful, if it wasn't for how terrible she evidently felt.

"Sev." She muttered. "Where were you?" She questioned quietly and her voice was thick from crying.

"I was…" He trailed off. She wouldn't want to know where he was.

"You were with _them_." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Severus could tell she needed sleep by the way her head kept sloping to one side.

"Lily, if you need to sleep, I have a Dreamless Sleep potion. It will help you. It always helps me."

"No, I don't want to be numb. Will you just- Will you hold my hand?" She said holding out her hand. Normally she would have thought this request childish, but now she seemed to plead.

"Of course, Lily." He grabbed her hand and it was cold inside his surprisingly warm one. He knew she didn't want to talk anymore, or cry, or sleep. She just wanted him to be there and wanted his reassurance that not everything in her world was crashing down at a pace she couldn't begin to fathom.

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**Heads up for all you Potterheads out there, Deathly Hallows Part 1 is on ABC Family right now! And if any of my readers happen to be Nerdfighters (like me) DFTBA! (:**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys! Sorry I haven't update in a few days! It's been a busy weekend! I'm glad you all are happy with what happened and now this paves the way for boundless Snily stuff (which is what we all really want)! Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows!**

**Disclaimer: All characters are J.K. Rowling's. I don't make any money. Like, I'm not kidding. I'm 16 and don't have a job, so I don't make _any_ money. *sigh***

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Chapter 15

Severus awoke to sunlight pouring through Dumbledore's office window. It illuminated everything including the two sleeping figures next to him and filled the entire room with a golden glow. He looked over and noticed his hand was still somewhat intertwined with Lily's. She was still sleeping, sitting in an upright position with her head drooping to one side. Severus had also slept in a chair all night, never wanting to leave Lily's side, and it was a good thing he didn't. She had woken up at least every hour screaming for James and clutching Severus's hand. The terror on her half-asleep face gave Severus the notion that she was having unbelievably terrifying nightmares, but within minutes, she would calm down and fall back asleep. This cycle allowed him very little sleep, but he didn't dare try to leave or even find a more comfortable place to sleep in the room. So, despite his aching neck and back he stayed in the rough wooden chair the entire night. She needed him there and that's exactly where he'd be. All of sudden the wooden door to the office creaked open slightly and Dumbledore peeked in. He saw that Severus was awake, so Snape motioned him in.

"How was she?" Dumbledore whispered, walking over to Severus. He was taking great care to make as little noise as possible.

"Better than expected. Numerous nightmares, but at least she's been able to sleep at all." Dumbledore smiled at their clasped hands.

"Well, she was in good _hands_." Severus nodded and blushed slightly. "Though, if you don't mind, I would like to discuss some-"Dumbledore was cut off by Lily stirring. Severus braced himself for a scream, but this time she was just waking up, thankfully, not from a nightmare. Severus gently let go of her hand as her eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the brightness of the room. She then quickly sat up, looking startled, and turned around to where Harry was still sleeping. She noticeably relaxed when she saw that he was still there and gently picked him up out of the make-shift cot.

"So, it wasn't just a bad dream?" She said weakly, turning around to face Severus and Albus. Dumbledore lowered his head. "Lily, we're all so sorry."

"There's nothing anyone could've done anyways." Lily said flatly. "No one knew Peter would do something like that." The room was silent. "Does- does Sirius know?" She said looking up at Dumbledore.

"I believe so, but nobody has heard anything from him yet." _Lily, you're the bloody widow. If anything, Black should be worrying about you, not you worrying about him. _Severus thought to himself.

"Sev?" Lily said quietly.

"Yes, Lily?"

"Did you sleep here all night? With me?"

"I never left your side."

"You didn't have to do that." She said sincerely.

"No, I did. You uh- Well, you- didn't sleep very solid."

"Exactly, it was a terrible enough night for me, let alone you."

"Lily, don't even worry about it. Really."

"Would you like anything to eat, Lily? I can have something brought up?" Dumbledore offered.

"No, I don't really feel like eating, but Harry will need something. He's a bit of an early-riser, just like…" She took a deep breathe in and then set him back down in his cot.

"Would you mind if I cleaned up a bit?" She said standing up. She felt in desperate need of a shower. She thought the hot water might temporarily ease up some of her pain and help wash away her sleepless night.

"Not at all. Would you like me to keep an eye on Harry?" Dumbledore said. He saw the reluctance in Lily's eyes before she said, "Yes, thank you, I won't be long I promise."

"Severus, will you walk her down to her chambers? Make sure the students don't bother her."

"Yes, Headmaster." Severus nodded as he and Lily left the office. Lily immediately noticed how stuffy the room had become and how cool and refreshing the corridor felt.

"Can you believe it?" Lily said as they walked.

"Believe what?"

"That Voldemort is really gone."

"I like to think so. Gives me peace." He said smiling slightly.

"I hope James knows." She said, her eyes filling up slightly with tears. "I hope he knows that because of him, Voldemort can't do any more damage. That's what gives me peace." They finally reached her chambers and Severus went to sit down at the small kitchen table as Lily made her way to the bathroom. He started to make some tea as he heard the sputtering of the shower coming on.

"Sev?" He heard coming from the bathroom. He walked over to the closed door.

"I'm right here. What d'you need?" He called back.

"Will you- will you come in here and sit?" She asked weakly and barely audible over the sound of the water and from the other side of the door. Severus sighed and slowly inched the door open. He had no idea if he was supposed to cover his eyes or what. "Ok, uhm, what am I supposed to do?"

"Just shut the door and sit. I can't stand being alone. Not now." She said and it was completely true. She knew it sounded like a strange request, especially to a guy, but being completely alone with her own thoughts was overwhelming. She was relieved when she heard him put the toilet seat down to sit on it. She was worried that he might opt to just stand outside the door. Severus felt very hot and stuffy. Lily must've had the water turned up ungodly high as the entire room was filled with steam. He was grateful that the shower curtain wasn't at all remotely see through or else he probably could not stand to sit in such close proximity.

"What do you suppose is going to happen with my students?" Lily said from the shower.

"Well, I'm sure Dumbledore will have someone take over for the rest of the year."

"For the rest of the year? I don't want that."

"Lily, the students will be badgering you all the time about your son, and-"

"No, I think a few weeks off will be good. Just some time to get things straight. Then I'll teach again. Sev, I'm going to _need_ something to do." _Well at least we aren't going to have the "giving up on life" phase._

"What do you plan on doing with Harry during the day?"

"Well, I haven't really thought about it. Maybe Madame Pomfrey could watch him. She's never extremely busy during the day. Or Hagrid, he absolutely adores Harry." Severus rolled his eyes. _Hagrid? In charge of a child? She would suggest something like that._ Soon the shower head turned off.

"Sev, will you hand me a towel? Second shelf in the closet on the right." He grabbed a towel and held it out as an arm came out of the shower and grabbed it.

"I'll just be in the kitchen." He said as he left the bathroom. He walked over to their teas which were already cold when a knock resounded through the room.

"Come in." He called. Albus then walked in with a very awake Harry who amusing himself by was tugging at his very long beard.

"He became quite concerned when he couldn't find his mother, but now I suppose he's found something more interesting." Dumbledore chuckled. "Where's Lily?"

"Oh, she was just-"At that moment Lily walked out of the bathroom with just a towel on.

"Oh!" Lily said blushing. "Sorry, I didn't know you were here headmaster."

"Oh, no matter. I was just dropping Harry off. I've got a meeting with the other teachers. They are all very curious to know what happened last night and I want them to be properly informed." As Lily and Dumbledore talked, Severus couldn't, however hard he tried, take his eyes off of Lily. With so much skin exposed he was struggling to maintain composure.

"Well, I'll be off then. Oh and here is a small box of cereal that the house elves brought for Harry." Dumbledore said handing the box to Severus and then leaving.

"Sev, will you entertain Harry while I go get dressed?"

"Yeah, sure." She walked into her bedroom and Harry teetered over to one of the kitchen chairs. Severus had no idea whether he was hungry or not, so he picked Harry up, set him on his lap and opened the box of cereal onto the table. Harry then began picking up the pieces and putting them one by one into his mouth. Severus was glad he was a low-maintenance sort of child. He then thought about the strange scar that was on the boy's forehead. It was odd that nothing seemed to have an effect on it or was able to heal it at all. Lily entered the room wearing jeans and a t-shirt and sat down at the table next to Severus and Harry.

"I see you have him under control."

"Well, there really isn't much to control." He said motioning towards Harry who was still eating away happily.

"It's strange how oblivious he is to all of this." Lily said sadly.

"I'd consider him lucky in a sense. Not _having_ to worry."

"It's just, he survived a bloody killing curse! It's mad to think that that happened to _my_ son."

"Well, I'm sure within the next week everyone will know his name."

"You really think so?"

"You don't? Lily, he survived the Dark Lord's killing curse and is partly responsible for his death. People will want to know who he is. Hell, they'll probably even praise him."

"I guess you're right." Lily had never really thought about the fame that might come with what had happened to her family. She never thought that that might ever pose as a problem. "But, won't people want revenge?"

"Oh, without a doubt. Some Death Eaters have now lost everything and are probably being carted off to Azkaban as we speak." Severus was quite glad that some of those horrible people were going to rot in a cell in Azkaban as was Lily.

"Do you know if they've found Peter?" Lily asked. "Because I hope to Merlin that he gets the Dementor's Kiss. He deserves it."

"I agree." Severus said as he began rolling up his sleeve. "Lily, look at this."

"I don't see anything."

"Exactly. My Dark Mark is gone. It began disappearing last night and now this morning it's not even there." Lily smiled slightly, the first one in quite a while.

"You're free, Sev." Lily said

"Yeah I- I suppose I am."

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**So that chapter was just a filler and I hope to sort of speed through Lily's grief period and all that. I don't want to make it seem like she just get's better instantly, but I think that Lily wasn't someone who would stay depressed and sad all the time. I think she'd want to move on and I think having** **Severus around will be a huge help. Next chapter will be soon! Even though I really have to start my summer assignment for school, I'd much rather write for you guys! (: Thanks again for reading!**


	16. Chapter 16

**So, I know nothing happened in this chapter, but I'm kind of stuck in a hole. I don't want to start their "relationship" too early, but in my opinion, we need to get this shit moving! ASAP! Plus, it's only early October, so no big holidays in the near future. However, I may just skip to ****Christmas because I've got some really sweet stuff planned for that! Everyone, just hang in there, the slightly awkward and embarrassing sexual advances are on their way! Once again, thank you to everyone who reviews, favorites, and follows! Your guy's feedback always changes the story, so keep letting me know what you think! (Also I've started reading "The Kite Runner". It' s my summer assignment for school and it isn't that bad! I suggest it to all of you!) However, my opinion still stands, 11th grade Honors English has got nothing on writing my Snily story (:**

**Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling, however, my name is Morgan. Feel free to call me Morg or whatever, either way, I don't make money.**

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Chapter 16

The next week passed in a blurry haze of roller coaster emotions for everyone within Hogwarts. The students became noticeably relaxed as many of them had parents that were contributing to the war in some way or another and were relieved to hear that being involved no longer posed a threat. However, the feeling that, for the time being, someone like Voldemort was not around was enough to lift everyone's spirits. Many members of the Order breathed a sigh of relief as dozens of suspected Death Eaters were carted off to Azakaban daily. Of course, no one could forget the miraculous tale that, though warped and distorted by repetitive tellings, carried the same sweet absolution. Everyone heard of how the brave and valiant James Potter sacrificed himself for his son, the only person ever to survive the Killing Curse. This dramatic story brought upon Lily and Harry, whirlwind fame. _Everyone_ wanted to know the inside story as to what the Potter's were doing now. Even some of Lily and James's most distant acquaintances, some they hadn't spoken to in years, sold their story to anyone who would listen. All of this recognition forced Lily and Harry to remain confined to the castle for the time being. Dumbledore suggested that they should wait for the wizarding community to settle down before making any public appearances. The only thing that Lily left the castle for, was a hurried burial for James. They wanted to keep it a quiet affair, the only attendees being Lily, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, and Minerva. Lily, however, only seemed to find complete solace in two people, Severus and Harry. All of James's friends found it comforting to talk about James constantly, but Lily couldn't be more the opposite. She felt best when she wasn't trying to reminisce on her memories with James. Focusing on the present cleared her mind and suppressed her bereavement. So, for the time being, she chose not to spend too much time with Remus and Sirius. They could grieve between the two of them in their own way, while Lily did what worked best for her. Though, she was fine throughout the day, it was at night that she was thrown into the dark abyss of nightmares that kept her waking up in a cold sweat. It was because of this that she and Harry now resided in Severus's chambers. She could no longer stand staying alone, so together they transfigured a spare room for her and Harry. It also allowed for Severus to help Lily with Harry more often. They quickly fell into a daily schedule which made Lily happy. She needed to be sure that normality was still existent in her life and it instilled solidity that kept any depression at bay.

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Lily was busy making dinner in the kitchen while Harry was playing happily in the living room on a particularly cold and rainy evening. She insisted that she should start cooking instead of going to the great hall for meals. That way she could avoid attention and plus, she didn't really feel comfortable bringing Harry there to eat. Severus agreed, so he too did not dine in the great hall anymore, but had house elves stock his personal kitchen with all sorts of groceries. The sudden opening of the heavy wooden door signaled Severus's return from teaching for the day.

"Lily?" Severus called. He saw Harry playing away happily on the living room floor. His entire chambers had recently become baby-proofed, with charms on all breakables and on his potions cabinet.

"I'm in the kitchen, Sev." She called out as she was putting a pan of pork chops in the oven.

"How was your day?" He said taking off his teaching robes and loosening his tie.

"Fine. Harry's got another tooth. I've only just got him to calm down."

"Ouch. Is he out of soothing gel?"

"No, but he's so stubborn. You know he doesn't sit still for me long enough to put it on his gums." Severus nodded sitting down at the table, while Lily took a seat across from him. Severus rolled up the sleeves of his button-up shirt to his elbows. He enjoyed the freedom to do that without revealing a sinister tattoo.

"How have the students been? Do they miss me?" Lily said, grinning slightly.

Severus sighed, "Missing you is an understatement. I'd say there'll probably be a school wide celebration the day you come back."

"Which should be soon." Severus raised his eyebrow.

"I'm not kidding, Sev. I've thought about it and James would not have wanted me to abandon my students for a lengthy period of time."

"Ok, well when were you thinking of starting?"

"Uhm, Monday?" Lily said biting her lip.

"In four days?"

"Yes." Severus smiled, that was so "Lily" of her. To just barrel through the bad things as quick as she could. Lily then got up to finish cutting potatoes, Severus quickly joined her. After a few minutes, Lily couldn't take it anymore.

"Oh, no, look you're doing it all wrong." She said as she took the potato and knife from his hand.

"_What_ am I doing wrong?"

"You're cutting it like this when you're supposed to cut it like _this_." She said motioning the correct way for Severus to do it.

"Well, thanks for clearing that up, Lily." He said as she handing him his knife back.

Lily giggled, "You may be an ex-double agent and potioning extraordinaire, but you can't cut a potato, without magic, to save your life.

"I'm sorry I embarrass you so." He said sarcastically. They quickly finished up the potatoes and got them boiling when Harry started to fuss.

"Oh, will you go get him and bring him in here? I have a charm on the living room so he can't go anywhere." Lily said as she checked on the rest of the food. "Dinner will be done any minute anyways." Severus walked into the living room and lifted the charm. He saw Harry holding on to the edge of the couch looking frustrated, though, when he saw Snape he lifted his arms up and grinned.

"Sev!" Harry shrieked. He was around Severus enough now that he recognized him immediately and, in Severus's opinion, now preferred him over Lily.

"Hello, Harry." He said as he picked him up and took him into the kitchen. Severus sat him down in his highchair, got him a cup of juice, and then sat down at the table too.

"Oh no, that's fine. I'll just finish up dinner by myself." Lily said.

"Well, if I try to help you, you'll end up telling me I'm doing it wrong."

"But then you'll never_ learn_, Sev." She said giggling.

"Learn what? How to cook dinner for a family?"

"Yes. You aren't old at all. You never know, someday you _might_ actually have one." Lily said with mock amazement. Severus rolled his eyes. In truth, he was tired from the day and didn't really want to help with dinner, but he also enjoyed watching Lily. Just the way she did simple things made his heart pound, like when Lily bent over to check the pork chops again he got a great view of…_Hey, look, James Potter, I'm checking your wife out while she makes me dinner. I'll probably go to hell for it, but I'm not one to deny myself the simple pleasures, eh?_

"Ok, everything's done." She said putting all the food on the table. She dished herself a plate and then had a smaller plate for Harry. She waved her wand over Harry's food and it instantly was cut into tiny pieces for him to eat with his hands. He bounced up and down in his seat anxious for food.

"Oh, I wish that bloody scar would go away." She said as she brushed his hair to the side.

"I don't think it will." Severus said his mouth full of food.

"Always the pessimist." She said digging into her own plate. "Oh, and by the way, gather up all your dirty clothes, Sev. I might as well charm them clean all at once.

"Lily, you don't have to do my laundry. You're not my maid."

"You're right, I'm not, but I like to help out around here." Severus just shook his head and smiled.

They all ate dinner quite quickly as they all were starving. Severus cleared all the dishes with the wave of his wand, not wanting the dishes to become a muggle task too. The three of them had an evening routine that they enjoyed quite well. Severus would clean up his living room and put all of Harry's toys away, while Lily gave him a bath and put him to bed. Once that was done, they would sit by the fire. Severus would grade homework and Lily would read or help him grade. It was a peaceful and quite time after a long day. Tonight, Lily was helping Severus grade his sixth-year's homework.

"Do they even _try_ to formulate reasonable answers?" Severus said sighing, scribbling a letter on to the paper, and tossing into the graded pile.

"Oh, I think they try. Some of these are quite good." Lily said.

"But Lily, these are NEWT students and this is definitely not NEWT material."

"Just be patient, Sev. All they need is some practice and a little encouragement and they'll be on the right track in no time." He sighed again. Lily yawned.

"Well Sev, I'd love to stay up all night and grade, but I'm ready for bed."

"Me too." He said, his head hurt from focusing all day. He waved his wand, sending all the homework into net and orderly stacks.

"G'night, Sev." Lily said smiling as she walked into her room and shut the door. Snape walked into his and got in some pajamas. He used to just sleep in boxers, but with Lily and Harry here he though it wise to sleep with more clothes on. He slipped into bed and dosed off with ease, falling into dreams of having a family like Lily had mentioned. Except the family in his dreams wasn't unfamiliar to him. Ever since Lily had moved in, he always had the same dreams of them falling madly in love, getting married, and having children with black hair and green eyes, sort of like Harry. But with her now actually being here, it made it that much harder for him to distinguish dreams from reality. And did he actually mind? Not at all.

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**We've had so much of Sev's point of view lately, that next chapter will probably be a lot more from Lily's point of view! So, please, do what you readers do best and tell me what you think! (: Also, my story alerts have been a little slow lately! All of the stories that I follow don't seem to update anymore and that makes me really upset! So, if you have any suggestions for me, please let me know! I would greatly appreciate it!**


	17. Chapter 17

**So, much to my dismay, I did not get to update yesterday! I really wanted to, considering that it was Harry and Jo's birthdays, but I guess I'll live...Ok, so I really like this chapter and I think I cleared up the whole Malfoy situation. In the series, Lucius evaded prison by claiming he was under the Imperius, so the same goes for this story! Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows! They put me in a super duper good mood!**

**Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling. Are you? Is I? We isn't? ...and there goes the English language.**

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Chapter 17

Lily sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror, early Monday morning. She felt like it was her first day all over again, but with double the amount of nerves and anxiety. She shouldn't be nervous at all though. All the students knew her and liked her a lot and they were also very aware of the recent events that had taken place in her life. She also knew that both Dumbledore and Severus fully supported her early decision to resume teaching, so realistically, she had no idea why she was as nervous as she was. _What if they ask questions? Want to know about Harry? And what if they find out about me living with Severus? Well, I know what will happen, rumors, rumors, and more rumors._ As she was looking herself over in her bedroom, Severus stood in the open doorway and knocked lightly on the door frame.

"You're ready early." He said giving her a small smile.

"Yeah, blame my anxiousness for that." She said looking down sitting on the edge of her bed. Severus walked over and sat down next to her.

"Lily, the students love you. They'll be glad to have you back."

"Oh, it's not that. I'm just worried that they'll want to _know_ things. Things about Voldemort that even I don't know."

"You're here to teach charms, not talk about Voldemort. If they ask, don't hesitate to tell them 'no'." He said, making it sound too easy.

"And if they ask about Harry?"

"Not their business."

"And if they ask why I'm living with you?"

"Definitely not their business." He said seriously, but Lily let out a small laugh. He always got so defensive over little things like that.

"Thanks for the help, Sev." She said patting his leg and standing up. She waved her wand and a packed bag for Harry flew to her hand. "I need to go take Harry to Madame Pomfrey. I'm so glad she's able to watch him." She left the room and Severus followed. As she went over to pick Harry up out of his highchair, she noticed how Severus watched. He always observed everything she did with curiosity, as if he'd never seen her do normal things before. Of course, it didn't bother her in the slightest. He'd always been like that even when they were kids.

"Well, I'll see you at lunch, Sev!" She called as she walked out the door.

"See ya, Lily." He called as she gave him a backwards glance and a smile. She quickly headed towards the hospital wing with Harry in one arm and his bag in the other. Even though class didn't start for another hour and most of the students were supposed to be at breakfast by now, there were still quite a few people wandering about in the hallways. They tried to glance up subtly, shocked by the sight of her son, acting as if he was some legend. Lily felt slightly uncomfortable, but simply nodded her head as if to say 'good morning' and passed on. However, she could still hear the furious whispers that broke out behind her.

"That's the Boy-Who-Lived."

"Look at his scar!"

"Blimey! _That_ little kid survived a killing curse?!"

Soon enough she reached Madame Pomfrey's office and Poppy was more than delighted to have a little company up in the hospital wing.

"Oh, my dear, it's no trouble at all. It's been very slow. A few colds here, a few Quidditch injuries there, nothing too serious." She had said as she cooed over Harry. Lily moved through the hallways, and with much less staring and whispering, without Harry in her arms. She walked into her classroom which was still exactly how she had left it. Dumbledore had picked up almost all of her lessons, so she knew for a fact that her students wouldn't be behind. She walked up to her desk at the front of the room and sat down. A desk that she hadn't occupied long for very long, before _the_ day. That was the last time she had been in here and it was strange to think that she left this room without a second thought of what was to come. Without even knowing that the next time she came in here, her life would be completely different. _No, pull yourself together. You are teaching again, this is what you wanted, now just do it. No breaking down or sad thoughts. That'll just make everyone think that you aren't ready. _She looked down at the framed photograph on her desk. It was of James reading Harry a story and James always looked up and smiled. She always saw that smile whether it was on Harry or in her dreams. _ My dreams. I don't even want to think about last night's dreams._ It was true that last night her dreams had been substantially different from the rest. Usually, she saw James falling to the ground dead intermingled with the scene in the photograph on her desk, but last night, she saw James fall dead and then right when he was supposed to look up at her and smile, she saw Sev. She saw Sev in James's spot in the picture. He was reading Harry a story and then looked up at her with his small smile. She hadn't really thought much about it, but couldn't deny that it unnerved her. _Do I want him in that position? Am I replacing James subconsciously? _She was taken out of her thoughts by her familiar first period class coming in the doorway.

* * *

"So no undesirable questions today?" Severus said as he sat down at the table with his plate. Since Lily was back to teaching, they just had house elves bring down food from the great hall.

"None whatsoever." Lily said, already seated. She was just feeding Harry a few minutes ago, but he had already fallen asleep in his highchair. "I told you, the students are quite respectful."

He rolled his eyes and then nodded towards Harry, "Had a busy day, has he?"

"Yes," Lily giggled, "Madame Pomfrey said he spent at least an hour, running up and down along the rows of beds."

"If only I had half his energy." Severus said sighing. "So did you see the Prophet today?"

"No. It's rubbish."

"Well, I _know_ that, but today they had a lovely piece about the people who have recently been thrown in Azkaban and guess which people weren't on the list?"

"Hmm, let me see, uhm the Malfoys?" Lily said dramatically.

"Yes."

"But how? Everyone knows he's a Death Eater. What, did he buy his way out of Azkaban or something?"

"Not quite. He claims he was under the Imperius Curse. Of course, the Ministry can't prove that he wasn't, so he wins."

"Praise the Ministry's marvelous justice system." Lily said sarcastically.

"Yea, well, they have a one-year old son and to be honest, I don't think Narcissa could do it alone."

"She can't, but I _can_?" Lily said softly.

"I didn't mean it like-"

"Well, I'm glad that that vile Lucius Malfoy can watch his son grow up. Good thing he's there to help Narcissa with that." Lily said gritting her teeth.

"Lily, I can guarantee you, that you are double the mother that Narcissa Malfoy is. She relies constantly on that house elf of theirs to everything for Draco." Severus said putting his hand on her's.

"And I guess Harry won't completely grow up without a father figure."

"Well, I'd hardly call Sirius a-"

"No, I mean you." Lily said meeting his eyes. Severus was taken aback by what she had just said. He didn't know whether he should be happy about it or annoyed that he was now stuck in this position. "You are around Harry a lot more than Sirius and far more mature than he is."

"Like James would ever want me to be anything close to a 'father' to Harry." Severus used his first name because every time he referred to him as "Potter", Lily would give him a disapproving glare and he'd had enough of those to last him a lifetime.

"Well," She sighed, "It's not really up to him anymore. You're my best friend, I trust you, I think you're a good influence, therefore, I think you'd be a great person for Harry to look up to." Severus was still slightly stunned that she just assumed he'd be around for a long time, of course, he wouldn't hesitate to oblige.

"And don't think you're getting out of this too easily. We live with you now and I don't see you getting rid of us anytime soon." Lily said smirking.

"No, it's not that. I'd just thought _you'd_ want to leave. Especially when summer comes round."

Lily looked up, "I hadn't even thought about summer or even the holidays." With everything that had happened, Lily had forgotten that she didn't actually have a house. It wouldn't be a financial issue in the slightest it was just something she realized she'd probably have to sort out within the next few months.

_Should I offer her to stay with me? No, she's got the Potter fortune to buy a house with. She isn't homeless. But, will she want to stay alone? Do I want to stay alone? Oh, bloody hell, just man up and ask her. _"Uh, Lily?"

"Hmm?" She said, being brought of her own thoughts about her living arrangements.

"If you want to stay with me, at least over the holidays, that'd be fine with me." _Sweaty palms. Great. Real manly._

"Like at your house?"

_She doesn't want to. I'm an idiot for asking. _"Uh, yea, but never mind-"

"No, I'd love to." She said grinning. "It'll be nice. We'll decorate and bake and you can help me buy Harry's presents." Severus could tell she was already making up intricate plans that he was bound to go along with.

"Of course." Severus said leaning back in his chair. They had both finished their food and with a flick of his wand the dishes vanished. Lily stood up and yawned.

"Well, I'm ready for bed and Harry…" She motioned towards the boy who had slept through dinner. Before she could try to lift him out of his chair, Severus stood up and offered to carry him.

"Ok, he's all yours." Lily said. Severus picked up the sleeping Harry, practically all dead weight, and carried him into Lily's room.

"Just lay him down in his bed. We won't worry about a bath tonight." Severus gently laid Harry down and then covered him up. Lily admired how gentle Severus was with him. She wished that everyone could see this soft side of him because it was certainly, in her opinion, his best.

"You're pretty good at this."

"Good at what?"

"At being a dad." She said as she walked over and slowly pulled him into a hug. "Thank you." She said into his shoulder. Her arms looped around his neck and his arms encircled her waist. "Thanks for being here for _us._" Severus didn't really know what to say. He really couldn't believe that Lily would think he would just abandon them, but then again, she would worry about something crazy like that.

"I will always be here, Lily." Severus said, as he silently wished she'd hug him a little longer and she wished he'd hug her a little tighter.

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**Where did that fluffy ending come from? I don't freaking know. Ok, as always thank you for reading and you can review or what ever it is that pleases you. I don't have the power to tell you otherwise, but I would like to suggest a follow on Tumblr! 30secondstohogwarts! Just saying, it would be a good idea (:**


	18. Chapter 18

**Ok, let's all ignore the fact that I haven't updated in like four days. Good? Are we calmed down now? Yes, okay, so this chapter took me all day and it is a longer one, but it's one that I felt most of you wanted. A lot of you guys wanted a little more Sirius, so that's what you got! I hope the next update won't take so freaking long, but I just didn't get much time to write over the weekend! School starts for me in 20 days (kill me now), so I definitely want to get as many chapters in as possible before then. Thank you all for reviewing and letting me know exactly what you want! It makes me job 10x easier! (: Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling, but if we want to pretend that I am, then that works too. I don't make any money, but if we want to pretend...no I'm broke, there is no pretending there.**

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Chapter 18

Lily walked out of her room early Saturday morning to start breakfast and found that the house elves had already brought plates of food down, even though she was more than happy to cook on the weekends. She walked over and picked up a plate as well as the post that they delivered. No windows in the dungeons meant no owl delivery. She plopped down on the couch and flicked through the envelopes, "_Sev…Sev…Sev…oh me!"_ She thought as she found one addressed to her. She turned it over and instantly recognized the short scrawled handwriting of Sirius Black. Lily set Severus's mail on the table as she unfolded Sirius's letter.

_Dear Lily,_

_I hope you and Harry have been doing well. I have been doing my best to keep both Remus and I in good spirits. We've recently been spending a lot of time together. He's the only one besides you who would understand what I'm going through. That's why I'm hoping that maybe we could meet up and have dinner sometime soon? I would love to see Harry and love to see everyone at Hogwarts. It would really liven my spirits, seeing as they've been quite low, despite my best efforts. Anyways, please let me know soon!_

_-Sirius _

_P.S. Plus, Harry will turn into such a Mummy's boy before too long. He needs his godfather soon or else he'll probably go nuts!_

Lily finished the letter, slowly folded it, and set it on the table with the other envelopes. She ran her fingers through her hair and sat back as she thought about her reply. _He doesn't know about Severus, he doesn't know that I live with him, and he doesn't know that Harry is now just as familiar with Sev as he is with him. His reaction? _Lily scoffed. _Oh, he'll be livid and I can't see Sev being much better._ Her thoughts were broken as Severus stiffly walked out of his room yawning. He absent mindedly grabbed a cup of tea and sat down in his chair, opposite Lily on the couch.

"Morning, Lily."

"Good morning, Sev." She said as she nudged his letters over to him. He flicked through them just as Lily had done and set the stack back down.

"Did you get anything important?" He said nodding towards the opened letter.

"Oh, um…no, not really." She said, taking a sip of orange juice.

"No? Then who's the letter from?" He said smirking.

"It's not really any of your business, is it?"

"Just asking." He said looking down at a copy of The Daily Prophet. A few more seconds passed in silence.

"It's from Sirius." Severus raised an eyebrow. "He wants to come to Hogwarts, so he can spend a little time with me and Harry."

"Black wants to come here?" She nodded as Severus sighed and Lily noticed the oncoming signs of a scowl.

"Oh, Sev, he'll be fine. I think- I believe that James dying has…matured him, in a way."

"Matured or not, he's still someone I can't stomach. James, I could handle slightly, but Black? Absolutely not."

"Sev, I'm asking you for one hour, to be civil with him. _One_ hour. That's it." Severus looked up at her and sighed.

"When?" He finally said and Lily smiled.

"Hopefully tonight. I'm going to write him back right now and see if that works for him. Oh Sev, thank you so much! I promise I'll make it up to you!" She said as she stood up. "Just don't instigate him and he won't do anything to you." _Yes, because that worked so well in school._

"Lily, instigated or not, he'll probably be a bloody jerk to me anyways. I'm only willing to be civil if and _only_ if, he is too."

"That's the spirit, Sev." She said as she got out a piece of parchment and began writing her reply.

* * *

Evening came quickly for Severus and Lily, as they had been extremely busy all day. Lily had cleaned up around the chambers for Sirius's visit, with occasional help from Severus and Harry. Severus, for the most part, could not understand why he should clean up his living area for Sirius, as he hardly considered him a guest worthy of it. So, he spent the majority of his day grading and brewing potions for the upcoming week. Lily was really looking forward to cooking for the occasion, but Sirius, after assuring Lily that her cooking was more than satisfactory, insisted that he wanted to eat Hogwarts food.

"Sev, have you seen my- oh there it is!" Lily said, looking for her wand while putting an earring in. Sirius would be there any minute and Severus sat in the living room completely ready for whatever this long evening may bring. He was wearing plain black robes, despite Lily's best efforts to get him to wear something else. Lily, however, wore a navy blue skirt with a white long-sleeved blouse. A blouse that Severus hated and loved for the same reason, it showed a little more than it should.

"I don't see why we're all dressing up."

"You wouldn't." Lily replied as she put a small polo shirt on Harry. "Now, I told Sirius that I'd go get him at the gates at 8, so I'm going to head down. Just keep an eye on Harry and make sure he doesn't get anything on his clothes." Lily said as she put an outer cloak on.

"Okay, boss." Severus said, saluting her. She laughed as she shut the door and headed down the corridor.

* * *

Lily hastily made her way across the grounds in the chilly fall air. She couldn't wait to get back inside, where it was warm, and eat. She approached the gate where Sirius was standing and lifted the charms on it to let him in.

"Oh Lily, it's so great to see you!" He said excitedly as he pulled her into a tight hug.

"It's great to see you too, Sirius!" She said when he released her.

"How's Harry been? How's it been working at Hogwarts? Are you back working again? Do you have-"

"Sirius, Sirius, slow down." Lily said giggling. "We'll have plenty of time to talk over dinner."

"Ah man, dinner! It's been so long since I've eaten here. I think that's definitely what I miss most." He said jokingly as they entered the castle. They walked along conversing happily when they went right past the charms room.

"Uh, don't you teach charms?"

"Yes."

"We just passed the chambers."

"Well, we're actually eating in the dungeons tonight." Lily said. She was becoming more nervous as they came nearer and kept averting her eyes.

"Lily? Is there something you're not telling me?" Sirius said grinning. He stopped and crossed his arms.

"Sort of."

"And that is?"

"Ok, just don't turn around and leave and don't do anything rash when I tell you, got it?"

"Swear." He said putting his hands up.

"Well, you see, since James died I had been feeling pretty lonely and so I moved in with a colleague, an old friend of mine, the potion's master-"

"You could never make me lonely enough to live with old Sluggy-"

"No, he doesn't teach here anymore. It's..uh..it's Severus Snape." She said wringing her hands. Sirius's jaw noticeably clenched and the humor drained from his eyes. "Sirius, you promised." She added before he had the chance to say anything.

"Right. Ok. I take it Snivellus will be eating with us too?" Sirius asked as he kept on walking with his fists clenched.

"Don't call him that! And yes, he will be."

"And I take it Harry is with him now?"

"Yes. I trust him. A lot." Lily said as they finally reached the door. She turned around to Sirius and said quietly. "Just behave. I'm not asking for you two to be friends tonight; I just want you to tolerate each other. That's all I ask." Sirius rolled his eyes and Lily took that as his form of agreement.

"Sev, we're back." Lily called out. Severus stood up from the couch, straightening his robes, as Harry ran over to greet his mother and godfather.

"HARRY! How's my boy doing?" Sirius said snatching a giggling Harry up in his arms and hugging him. Harry babbled happily to his godfather and Sirius nodded as if he understood everything he was saying. Lily walked over to Severus, put a hand on his shoulder, knowing that might calm him down.

"So, shall we eat then?" Lily said smiling.

"Of course!" Sirius said, carrying Harry into the kitchen.

"Where do I put him?"

"Just in his high chair, there." Lily said as she sat down. The whole table was already set when the food appeared out of thin air, filling their plates. Sirius finally looked over at Severus who was already looking at him. Lily noticed this glaring battle that seemed to have formed, but wasn't going to intervene. _At least they're throwing glares and not throwing curses. _The delicacy of the whole situation was evident and made the room slightly uncomfortable. Lily had also made the mistake of sitting in her usual chair, which would force Sirius to have to take the only available seat, next to Severus. Sirius was the first to speak, "So Lily, how have the students been here? Cheeky? Obnoxious?"

"None of that actually. They're all quite well behaved. I'd say polar opposites of you and James." She said smiling. As that whole conversation carried on Severus just ate as silently as possible. _Oh, James and Sirius, my favorite subject. I'm so glad we get to talk about this. He's definitely kissing up to Lily, trying to be so polite. That act can't last long._ Severus almost felt like he wanted Sirius to do something or say something wrong to him, just so it would appear to Lily that he really hadn't matured.

"So," Sirius said finally facing Severus. "have you seen much of my brother over the past year? I've hardly seen him at all. Can't say I miss him much though." Lily tensed, not wanting to bring the subject of Death Eaters up at all and hoping that Severus wouldn't lash out.

"No, I can't say I have." Severus said coolly and Lily breathed an inward sigh of relief.

"Ah, well, he was a bastard anyways."

"Watch your mouth, Black." Lily said.

"Harry, if you think I have a foul mouth, wait till you get a load of your mother's. She has- Ouch!" Sirius exclaimed as Lily had sent a stinging jinx to his hand. Severus put a hand up to his mouth to hide his grin.

"You were saying?" Lily said smirking.

"Oh, nothing, nothing."

The rest of dinner was a smooth affair with no outbursts or fights from anyone. Lily was pleasantly surprised at how well the men were behaving and was proud of them for being mature, especially around Harry. They all moved to the living room to relax for a while. Severus sat in his chair, Lily sat on the couch, and Sirius plopped himself down on the floor next to Harry. He talked with Harry and Lily for a while and then brought out his wand and made bubbles float from the end of it. Harry clapped and giggled, and even Severus had to admit it was really quite cute.

"Hey, Harry, who do you love more, mummy or Sirius? Sirius said grinning cheekily and looking up at Lily. Harry's brow furrowed up as if in deep thought and then yelled his answer, surprising everyone in the room.

"SEV!" He yelled as he pointed at Severus. Lily's jaw dropped into a full mouthed smile, while Sirius's expression was priceless. It was an amusing mixture of shock, disbelief, and jealousy. _Of all the things he could have said, of all the embarrassing things he could have done, he had to pick tonight. _Severus thought at Harry's response.

"So you _have_ been spending too much time with your mother." Sirius said finally. _There it is! I knew he couldn't go all night without saying something dumb!_

"So this is my fault?" Lily said.

"Well, of course it is. James would never let his son prefer Sniv- Snape over me." Sirius said still trying to make it sound like a joke.

"First off, Harry is my son too, second, so what if he likes Sev! You're his godfather and always will be, so don't even worry about it. You know you'll always be something special to him." _Way to go, Black. Way to set her off._

"Sorry, Lily. I didn't think it'd offend you."

"It didn't offend me, you just don't often think before you speak." She said, softening her tone. Sirius stood up with Harry in his arms, Harry had his mouth open wide in a yawn and his eyelids kept drooping over his eyes.

"I think you better get the kid to bed." Sirius said handing him to Lily. He gave him a kiss on the head and a goodbye as Lily took him into her room. This was the first time Sirius and Severus had been left alone together in a room.

"So, how's she been? Depressed at all?" Sirius asked with genuine concern.

"No, she's been doing very well. I think Harry is sort of her buffer for depression."

"That's good." He said nodding and shoving his hands in his pockets. The awkwardness dissipated as Lily reentered the room.

"He is out like a light." She said giggling. "Are you ready to go Sirius?"

"Yep. You going to escort me to the gates or what?" He said jokingly.

"Not with that attitude." She replied sarcastically.

"Alright, alright." He said heading towards the door. He turned around and nodded to Severus. "See you around, then Snape." Severus nodded in agreement. It was about the closest thing that any of them were going to get to a proper goodbye. Lily ushered Sirius out the door, smiling out of relief of the success that had been obtained for both of the men. Sirius, however, wanted to ask Lily something, but wasn't sure how to approach it. He knew that if he said one wrong thing he was in for it. When they reached the castle gates he finally mustered up the courage to ask.

"Are you and Snape…like…together?" Lily was slightly caught off-guard by the question. She knew from his tone that he wasn't kidding though when he asked.

"No. We're just good friends again. He's good with Harry, he's a huge help, and he keeps me company. No more, no less." She said slowly. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason really. I just noticed the way he looked at you and-"

"What way?" Lily was seriously confused.

"You mean you don't notice it?"

"Notice _what_?"

"How he does nothing, but stare at you. Sorta creepy, but it's not. He just acts like you'll disappear or something. It reminds me of- Well, I hate to compare the two, but it's like how James always looked at you. It's like he _loves_ you, Lily. " She was not prepared at all for what Sirius had said. She stood frozen, contemplating Sirius's comparison and use of the word "love".

Sirius snapped his fingers in front of her face, "Earth to Lily. You still in there?" He said grinning.

"Uh, yea." She said shaking off her shock.

"Well, it's been a great evening, Lily. Thanks. I'll see you and Harry soon?"

"Of course. We'll do this again soon." She said smiling and giving him a parting hug. She watched him walk out the gates and disapparate with a crack, echoing through the night. Lily turned and headed back up towards the castle, her mind swarmed with Sirius's words. _Severus looks at me like James did? Well, how did James look at me? Does that mean that Sev-? No, I doubt he does. He just wants to be friends, I'm sure. He doesn't love me like Sirius was implying. _Lily had never thought for even a second that Severus might harbor feelings for her and to be honest, she wasn't at all appalled at the idea that Severus liked her that way. _I mean, I would never reciprocate his feelings (if they're there at all), but it's…sort of sweet. _She was smiling to herself as the retuned to the dungeons. She heard Severus rummaging around in the kitchen and found him halfway through making a sandwich.

"What?" He said as she leaned against the counter, smiling.

"Didn't get enough to eat?"

"Not with Sirius there. I was too focused on hating him to eat." Lily giggled.

"Well, you did very well at masking it."

"You act like I wasn't a bloody double agent." He said taking a huge bite of his sandwich.

"Oh Sev, your humbleness is admirable." She stood up and walked over to where he was sitting at the table and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind.

"Thank you for tonight, Sev. I know it wasn't easy, but just know that I'm grateful." She said into his ear. This gave him goosebumps and he could hardly swallow the bite of sandwich he had just taken. Then she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, patted his shoulder, and went to her room. Severus's cheek was on fire and he brought up his hand up to it. He felt like he had just been slapped and his chest was tight. He wasn't even sure how long it had been since he took a breath, but at that moment oxygen was the least of his worries. He was done with his food and wanted to go to bed, but wasn't even certain that he could get his legs to work. _100 crucios. No problem. A kiss on the bloody cheek from Lily and I can hardly function._ One thing that Severus hadn't noticed as he went off to bed, after recovering from his "affection daze", was that Lily had watched the whole thing from her room. She watched him sit there with the simple look of joy on his face as he had touched his cheek and taken a deep breathe in after, what Lily thought, had to have been at least a 30 seconds. _So, what Sirius said is true? He really does like me that way. _Everything that he had ever done to convey his feelings became blatantly obvious in that moment. Lily didn't know why, but her last thought before she succumbed to sleep was, _Severus really loves me. Severus really loves me and I couldn't be more happy about it._

* * *

__**Woah, woah, woah, hold up! I did just throw the word "love" out there a few times, so we can all hop on the Snily train soon and never look back! Finally, Lily is getting the message that she's been super ignorant her entire life and needs to get with the program! Please let me know what you all think! And thanks for being super patient with me!**

**-Morgan (:**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey guys! Okay, so listen up, I've got some AMAZING news! So, Chris Rankin (he plays Percy Weasley in the movies) always retweets people who take pictures of his wand box at Leavesden studio tour and so, today, I thought it would be funny to get out my wand (Dumbledore's actually) and put Chris's name over Dumbledore's. I took a picture of the box, tweeted it to him, and then he retweeted it AND replied! Holy mother of all that is good, I am still freaking out! The rest of my year has been made my friends! Literally, when I saw it, I was like "Shit, shit, shit, this is ACTUALLY happening!". Anyways, enough of that, I skipped a few months because there wouldn't be really anything interesting, so now in the timeline it's almost December. The next chapter will probably be right before Christmas break. I just want to make sure you guys know what time we're working with. So, I hope you enjoy** **and thanks for the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling. I don't own Harry Potter. Blah, blah, blah. It never ends, does it?**

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Chapter 19

The next two months of the school year seemed to last an eternity for the students and staff. It was now late November and that meant bitter cold days swept with frigid winds. No one wanted to spend any more time outside than they had to, for it was entirely unenjoyable. Everyone at Hogwarts started to feel the strain of being so confined and before they knew it, there was a notorious virus making its rounds about the castle. Every week there would be ten or so students recovering from it, while 10 more were just about to go through it. This vicious cycle seemed to last forever and it wasn't long before students started making bets as to which teachers would succumb to it first.

"I hope its Professor Binns." Whispered a Ravenclaw, during one of Lily's lessons. "Could do without that class for a week."

"Binns? I think the majority of us want good old Snape to get it first." A Gryffindor whispered back.

"But then if Professor Snape gets it, Professor Potter will too and I can't afford for her to be sick. Not with OWL's coming up in June."

"Oh, don't worry about those. Why do you reckon she'll get sick if he does?"

"Isn't obvious? She lives in the dungeons with him."

"Bloody hell, what potion did he slip her to make her do that?"

"Excuse me. Mr. Bode, Ms. Perkins." Lily said as she stood next to their desks. They hadn't noticed that she was standing there. "I know your conversation was probably a lot more intriguing than what I'm teaching, but I have to stress the importance for you to pay attention." She said sternly, but in a pleasant tone as she headed back towards the front of the room to continue her lesson.

* * *

After classes that day, Lily was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea while Harry was still napping. She usually got back to the chambers before Severus (with potions being so messy, he usually had some sort of potion-gone-wrong to clean up before he could leave his office). Lily heard the familiar sound of Severus letting himself in and she looked over her shoulder to greet him.

"Hey Sev, how was- Merlin, are you okay?" She exclaimed as he practically dragged himself into the kitchen. She got up and grabbed his arm to steady him. His face was much paler than usual and his eyes were glassy.

"I'm-" He swallowed hard, "-fine."

"Oh, no you're not."

"Lily-"

"Sev, you need to go to bed right now. You're sick."

"I'm not sick."

"You look awful."

"Subtle much?" He said scoffing weakly, leaning on the counter for support.

"Just go get in some warm clothes, lie down, and I'll bring you some tea. You need rest." He didn't move.

"Your stubbornness isn't going to prove anything. You'll end up getting Harry sick." Lily said crossing her arms. That finally convinced him that he wasn't going to win this as he trudged off to his room. Lily rolled her eyes as she summoned a tray and some tea. By the time she entered his room he had already changed out of his teaching robes and gotten into bed. She pulled up a chair next to him and set the tray down on his nightstand.

"Hey." She said softly as she pulled out her wand and slowly waved it over him. Lily had learned a simple diagnostic spell from a book that Dumbledore had gotten her when Harry was born, "101 Essential Spells: Parenting Edition".

"And what seems to be the damage, Mrs. Potter?" He said weakly.

"Well, you're burning up! You've got yourself a temperature of 102 degrees!"

"Toasty."

Lily giggled, "That's for sure. Glad to see it doesn't have an effect on your sarcasm. Here, you need some fluids." She said handing him the tea.

"Thanks." He said taking a small sip.

"Do you have any potions in your stores to help with the fever? Or maybe a headache reliever?" She asked. Now that Severus thought about it, he could really use one of his potions right now. He didn't want to show it to Lily, but his entire body ached and his head was pounding.

"Uhm, yes, third shelf on the left is where they should be. They're labled."

"Okay, drink up and I'll be right back." She said as she walked over to the door.

"Lily?"

"Yes?"

"You don't have to do all this.

"I want to, Sev. Really." She said, giving him a warm smile before leaving his room. Lily checked to make sure Harry was still asleep and then left for Severus's office. She waved her wand at his locked door and was allowed entrance as she was the only other person, beside himself, who could get past the charms. Once inside, she looked around at the scrolls and books all strewn about. _He's such an uptight person, yet look at his own office, _she thought as she made a mental note to tidy up in here over the weekend. There was a smaller wooden door on the left side of the room that was his personal potion stores, which also, allowed her entrance with the wave of her wand. It was pitch dark in the small room and as she cast "Lumos" the room was illuminated, light bouncing off the numerous shelves of vialed potions.

"Third shelf on the left, third shelf on the-" But as she was scanning over the labels, her elbow accidentally bumped into a vial and she heard it shatter on the floor. "For Merlin's sake." She whispered to herself as she crouched down to clear up the glass. As she crouched down, an array of smells swirled up from the spill. _Amortentia. _She thought as she was captivated by the familiar scents that she loved. Immediately, the smell of her mum's homemade cinnamon bread, James after a shower, Harry, and clean clothes filled her head, as expected. However, there was one other. It was a smell that hadn't been in her Amortentia for years. It was the smell of mint and potions. _Severus._ She was only drawn in for a moment longer before she abruptly stood up and scourgified the potion and glass away. She quickly grabbed a vial of fever reducer and headache reliever and ran out the door, slamming it behind her. Lily stopped and leaned her head back against the cool office door, inhaling deeply, trying to flush out the remaining effects of the love potion. Her heart was beating rapidly and she was slightly dizzy, but she was mad. She was actually mad that she smelled Severus in the potion. _No, don't freak out. Of course, you love him. It doesn't mean anything though. It might even be wrong; I mean I was in his office, so I was probably just smelling that. No big deal. _She thought as she walked into Severus's bedroom. She set the vials down on the nightstand and turned the small lamp on.

"Sev?" She said, blushing slightly.

"Hmm?" He said, half asleep.

"What happened to your shirt?"

"Too hot." He replied groggily. _He must be really sick or else he would never let me see him without a shirt on._ Lily tried to hold back a smile.

"Well, here. I brought you the potions. Why don't you wake up a little bit, so you can take them?" He pushed himself up with effort and she handed him the vials, which he took down in one gulp.

"There, now I'm sure you'll feel better in no time. Just get some more rest and yell if you need anything." Lily stood up when Severus grabbed her hand. It was unusually hot from his fever, compared to her skin.

"Please, don't tell Lily."

Lily giggled slightly, "Don't tell Lily, what?"

"What I got her for Christmas. I know she'll love it, but I want it to be a surprise." He said, completely oblivious.

"I won't. I promise." She said patting his hand and then letting it go. He nodded and drifted back to sleep as she shut the door quietly, smiling to herself. _If only he knew how sweet he was when he's all feverish._

* * *

"Harry, don't play with your cereal." Lily said as she bit into a piece of toast. She hadn't checked up on Severus yet because she didn't want to wake him up, but soon enough, she heard his door creak open and the shuffle of feet.

"Sev, what are you doing up?" She said as he entered the kitchen.

"I'm feeling substantially better, so no reason to stay in bed all morning."

"How are you better already?" Lily said eyeing him.

"My potions work, Lily. They work _well._" As he said this, Lily ran her wand over him while he was standing. It showed that his fever had gone away almost completely.

"You still aren't going to your lessons."

"I wasn't planning on it. Just because I can walk to my kitchen, does not mean I can put up with students today." He said as he rubbed his temples. His head still had a dull throb and his body was sore, "But when you take Harry to Poppy, have her give him an immunity booster potion. Just to make sure he doesn't get this."

"Will do." She said as she cleared away her dishes and wiped Harry's face off. "Well, we better get going. Now, remember Sev, sleep, eat, drink, and wash your hands. Harry and I don't need your _disease._" She said sarcastically.

"Whatever you say, Lily." He said gulping down some juice.

"Harry, go get your toy owl and put it in the bag." She said let him down out of his highchair. Lily really wanted to ask Severus about last night, but she didn't know how to say it without making Severus worry. _Oh, just ask him! His going to worry either way._

"Uhm, Sev?"

"Yes?"

"You don't happen to remember anything you said last night, do you?" Her words made his face fall instantly.

"Bloody hell, what did I say?"

"No, no, you didn't say anything bad, it's just-"

"What did I say?" He said again and with an extemely worried expression. It made Lily laugh which only made him more frustrated.

"Sev, I'll tell you later."

"Or you can tell me now?" She walked into the living room to get Harry with Severus trailing behind her.

"No, we've got to get going. I promise, it's nothing to get worked up over." She said, still finding his reaction quite humorous.

"I doubt it." He said as he followed her to the door. She opened it and turned around.

"But, I will tell you one thing before I go."

"And what's that?"

"You didn't have a shirt on." She said as she shut the door quickly and before Severus could say anything more. He heard her laughing down the corridor and he rubbed his hands down his face. _Of course I didn't have a shirt on. Just my luck. Probably turned into a blabbering idiot and confessed my undying love to her too. _Severus quickly shook away the thought of that horribly embarrassing scenario. _Whatever it was, I will probably never hear the end of it._

* * *

**Please, do what you guys do best and let me know what you think! And let me know what you want! Thank you! I promise one day I'll make you all some vegan pancakes. You're welcome.**


	20. Chapter 20

**We've made it to 20 chapters! A fifth of the way to a hundred and I feel like we've barely gotten anywhere! Anyways, I must apologize again for the slow update (3 days is slow for me)! It's twice in a row and I promise the next one won't take is long. The next one will probably be mostly Christmas day, so that's why I wanted to rush this one as much as possible. Christmas will bring us...stuff...! As always, I hope you enjoy! Thank you to those of you who review! It assures me that people still enjoy this story!**

**Disclaimer: Not Jo Rowling! Don't own Harry Potter! *intense sobbing is heard in the distance***

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Chapter 20

As Christmas drew nearer, the depressing and drab feeling of winter was temporarily veiled by everyone's excitement for the holidays. All of the decorations were stung up about the castle and twelve huge fir trees, each adorned with a variety of bulbs, stood tall in the great hall. That day earlier was the last day of classes and at dinner the great hall was alight with the chatter of students that were leaving and students that weren't.

"I think we should eat in the great hall this evening." Lily said standing at Severus's bedroom doorway, with her teaching robes still on. Severus was in his room, wanting to change out of his teaching robes and into something more comfortable.

"Why? We never do that."

"Exactly. I'm sure Harry would love to see the place all decorated and I think by now the students are pretty familiar with him." That was entirely true. Many times Lily had taken Harry out for a walk around the castle and almost every time a gaggle of students would "coo" and "awe" at him. They all knew when little Harry was in the corridors because his little giggles could be heard echoing all through the castle.

Severus sighed, "Well, if we must." He said, grudgingly retying his tie.

"Great! I'll grab Harry and we'll head up!" Lily exclaimed with unparalleled excitement that made Severus smile slightly.

As they made the trek up from the dungeons, they could already hear the shouts and laughter from the hall. All the corridors were completely vacant, save for some deliberately torn down decorations, done by the all too rowdy students.

"Harry, you are going to _love_ it up here! There'll be trees, and lights, and decorations…" Lily said as she bounced Harry on her hip. "Oh, Sev, don't give me that look! As soon as we get to your house tomorrow, my decoration spree will begin."

"Oh, the anticipation." He said sarcastically. As they approached the hall, the large doors were wide open, flooding the surrounding area with a roar of people and silverware on plates. The trio walked in without being noticed and went up to the staff table.

"Ah, Severus, Lily!" Cheered Dumbledore from the table. "It's good to see you two back in here! And I see we've brought young Harry with us?" He smiled warmly at them all. As if the three of them were a puzzle that he had meticulously put together. After losing pieces and turning them, he finally had them in exactly the places he wanted. However, only Severus caught this look and he had a feeling Dumbledore meant for him to do so.

"Please, sit down you three and dig in!" Albus motioned to the chairs beside him. Severus sat right next to Albus and Lily sat down, leaving a space between her and Severus. She sat Harry down between them and whispered to Sev, "I know how you feel about students and their rumors." She was implying that the students would be less likely to conjure the idea that their potions professor and charms professor had anything but a professional relationship. The look on Harry's face though, was enough to convince Severus that this was a good idea. Harry wore a look of pure wonder and awe as his little green eyes took in as much as they could. He hardly blinked at all and his mouth was open slightly, almost to the point where he started drooling a little.

"I see Harry is very well behaved." Dumbledore said, nudging Severus.

"Yes. He's not much trouble at all."

"I assume you three are staying at the castle for Christmas?"

"No, actually, we're going to be spending them at my house." Severus said gripping his fork a little tighter, bracing himself for Dumbledore's inevitable intrusive remark. Instead, he simply smiled, "Of course." _That's it? No alluding to the fact that you think Lily and I carry on in an inappropriate manner behind closed doors?_

"Lily is quite excited."

"It's strange. Don't you think?" Severus look over at Albus.

"What do you mean?"

"That she's so excited for Christmas? Especially since it'll be her first without James?" Severus was surprised by his thought. He really didn't know why Lily was so excited, but he was glad that she was. He wasn't sure he could deal with it if she was a depressed mess.

"I think she's moved on enough. Accepted it enough, that he won't be here."

"Perhaps. But I also think that he's been replaced."

"By Harry?"

"By you." Severus dropped his silver ware.

"You think I replaced him?"

"In a way, yes. She lost a male companionship and gained another." Severus scoffed, but inside he knew Dumbledore was completely right. He _did_ replace James, as a friend, as a father figure, and as a (dare he hope) a husband. Dumbledore watched Severus mull the thought over in his head.

"Just remember that what you're doing is right and will pay off in the long run." He said, winking and turning back to his food. Severus turned to look over at Lily who was still in conversation with McGonagall. He watched as her red hair fell over her should and how perfectly her hand lied on the table and the other moved as she talked. She smiled fully at something Minerva had said and Severus thought _Merlin, she has perfect teeth. _Lily then turned to face him and Harry.

"Are you boys full yet?" She asked still laughing from her conversation.

"YES!" Harry squealed.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Severus replied, smiling at Lily.

"Well, then we best get to bed, so we can get up and leave bright and early." She said as she lifted Harry out of the chair.

"It was a pleasure to eat with you three." Dumbledore chimed in.

"Oh, it was spectacular as always." Lily said sweetly.

"Yes, well, enjoy your holidays!" He said waving as they left the staff table.

"You too, headmaster!" Lily called as Harry waved at the old man, which made him chuckle. As the they exited the hall, many students yelled "happy holidays" to them, to which Lily yelled back thank you and smiled, while Severus managed his happiest scowl as a response.

* * *

"Somebody's tired." Severus chuckled slightly as he motioned to Harry. They were barely to the dungeons and he could hardly hold his head up, let alone keep his eyelids from drooping.

"I bet. He loved it in there." Lily whispered as Severus opened the door. "Maybe we should just eat there all the time now. It's about time to come back out of the dungeons, don't you think?" She inquired as she laid Harry down in her room and shut the door carefully.

"Yea, I suppose we could do that." Severus agreed, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"Better get to bed, Sev. We've got a lot of work to do at your house tomorrow."

"_We_?"

"Mhm." Lily nodded with a grin on her face.

"Merlin, help me." He exaggerated jokingly as he went into his room and Lily retired to her's.

* * *

"Up, Up, Up!" Lily chimed from outside Severus's door. Severus couldn't deny that he absolutely loved to hear Lily's voice, but not at this early in the morning and especially since it implied he would be very busy all day. She flung the door open, letting light in and Severus opened one eye and groaned.

"Lily, you're mad." He said rolling over and putting his pillow over his face.

"If I'm mad, then what does that make you?" She questioned playfully as she went over to his charmed window and pulled the curtains back, flooding the room with winter sunlight.

"Tired. You're mad and I'm tired." He said in a sleepy voice, half-muffled by the pillow. Lily grinned impishly, tip-toed over to him, and quickly seized the pillow from him.

"Lily!"

"Severus Snape, get up right now!" She said with his pillow in hand.

"Give me my pillow back!" He said with his arm stretched out, pleadingly.

"Up!"

"Pillow!"

They stared at each other challengingly for a few seconds before Severus made his move. He grabbed for his wand on the nightstand beside him, but before he could accio the pillow, Lily had her wand out.

"Expelliarmus!" And his wand went soaring out of his hand and into her's.

She smirked, "You've lost your pillow _and_ your wand. Guess you'll have to get up now." She then waltzed out of the room with Sev's wand, pride, and pillow. He rubbed his hands over his face and got out of bed slowly. He got dressed, grabbed his stuff that he was taking to Spinner's End, and walked out into the kitchen, where Lily was already waiting, ready with Harry.

"Whenever you're ready, Sev." She said with all their stuff by the fireplace. Severus had had a floo put in at his house and they figured that it would be easier to get their stuff there, instead of apparating.

"I am." He said lifting his stuff.

"I believe this belongs to you." Lily handed him his wand.

"Thank you." He said as he stepped over their stuff. He stood next to the mantel and motioned for her to go first.

"You go with Harry and I'll go with the stuff." She then stepped into the flames with Harry, took a handful of powder, and said "Spinner's End". She and Harry were immediately engulfed in the emerald flames and disappeared from the fireplace. Severus followed with the bags and, within seconds, stepped out into the living room of his shabby childhood home. Lily had set Harry down and was already inspecting the place.

"There really isn't all that much work to do." She said as she dusted off the table with her hand. "A little cleaning and we should be good to go." Severus waved his wand and all the bags disappeared to their respective rooms. Lily looked around and couldn't help but to compare it to her house in Godric's Hollow. It was around the same size, but obviously more neglected. The living room was plain with a small coffee table, a couch, and two chairs. There a large window at the front of the room that was covered with tattered old curtains. She knew with just a few small changes, she could get this place feeling warm and homey. Despite Lily's earlier pleas to clean without magic, Severus raised his wand and began to scourgify the room, casting cleaning charms on every surface. "Are you gonna help me or not?" He said raising his eyebrows. Lily had her hands on her hips, still thinking about her old home, but soon pulled out her wand and started casting away.

"Sometimes, I swear you forget you're a witch." Severus chuckled as they moved into the kitchen that was separated from the living room by a corridor. The corridor was where the staircase was that led upstairs.

"I don't, I just like the satisfaction of cleaning without magic."

"I'm sorry magic isn't satisfactory enough for you." They both laughed as they continued with the kitchen.

"We're going to have to go grocery shopping. There isn't a scrap of food here."

"Well, since you mentioned it, why don't you go grocery shopping right now and Harry and I will finish up here?" She said smiling at him. _I hate grocery shopping so much. No, I don't want to go._

"That'd be fine." He replied. Lily reached into her pocket and pulled out some muggle money.

"Get something _good_!" She called at his walked out the front door.

Severus walked down the gray stolid street, blanketed in snow, to the muggle grocery store. He walked up and down the endless aisles with no idea what to get. He had never had to shop for anyone but himself and now he was expected to get things for Lily and Harry. _Well, I know what Lily likes, but what about Harry? What am I supposed to get him? _ He thought as he picked up product after product and put them into his trolley (a muggle contraption he despised). By the time he checked out he felt he had done the best that he could, taking into account everyone's tastes, however the look from the cashier made him feel like he did something wrong. He stepped outside into the light falling snow and looked both ways for muggles before disapparating to his front door. As he let himself in the smell of cinnamon filled his nostrils. He peered into the living room and the sight astonished him. It's didn't even look like the same room that he had just been in an hour ago. It was so clean that it practically gleamed and the curtains had been transfigured into nicer ones and were pulled back. The carpet was fluffed up, from its previously matted state and candles on the coffee table filled the room with the sweet aroma the he had smelled. Not to mention, the entire room was adorned with the same decorations from Hogwarts. There was tinsel everywhere and the only thing missing was a tree.

"You like it?" Lily said coming up behind him.

"It's great." He smiled back at her.

"Thank merlin, you're back! We're starving!" She said grabbing some of the grocery bags and going into the kitchen. It was the same astonishing change in there too. It looked like someone had replaced his kitchen with a newer, more sanitary one.

"We'll have to get the tree tomorrow, but…uh, Sev?"

"Yes."

"What is all this?"

She had begun to set stuff out on the counter only to realize the odd assortment of stuff that he had gotten. There was a box of cereal, a bottle of ketchup, a packet of cheese, some tea, a tub of yogurt, a jar of peanut butter, and some chocolate cookies. She sighed and began to giggle.

"The smartest man I know, but you can't properly buy groceries."

"Lily, I'm great at buying things for one man, but when it comes to you and Harry, I'm clueless. That place is bloody overwhelming." Lily laughed at his obvious struggle and pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you for trying, anyways. Very brave of you." She said sarcastically.

"I'll try to do a better job next time."

"There won't be a next time." He pulled away and she giggled. "I mean, _I_ will go next time."

"Oh," He breathed out in relief, "Of course."

"I'll go tomorrow morning, but until then, we'll have make do with your…uh…attempt." They both laughed and that evening after finishing up all the cleaning and settling in, the trio enjoyed their, as Lily put it, "Strange little dinner for a strange little family."

* * *

**Hope you all liked it! Also, did any of you guys go to Leakycon this year? How was it? I'm planning on going next year, but it was painful to see all that was going on at the London one this week, and not be there :/ But if anyone is planning on going next year (it's in Orlando), you should let me know too, so we can meet up! Unite all the Snily shippers (: **


	21. Chapter 21

**Oh my god, oh my god, this chapter just happened. I didn't expect this at all. Please, enjoy it! Also, I wrote a little one-shot the other day that could loosely be considered a _vague_ tiny spoiler for this story. It would be like a glimpse into the future like 17 years. Although, I did some math and I don't think it fits with this timeline and the character names and all that isn't at all what I want, but just to give you some tiny insight as to the direction of this story. It's called "Red-Headed Reassurances"! Anyways, thank you all for the reviews! I can't express how much they mean to me, whether it's a simple "good chapter!" or a long paragraph, they all put a smile on my face and make me happy to write! So, please enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: Today, I'm not J.K. Rowling, but hey, there's always tomorrow, right? Right.**

* * *

Chapter 21

"Sev, we need to move it over to the left a little. It's not straight at all."

"What do you mean it's not straight? It's perfect." Lily and Severus stood next to each other, both with faces of concentration, examining the new addition to the living room. The Christmas tree that the three of them had gotten wasn't nearly as hard of a chore as Severus thought it was going to be. Who knew that muggles grew entire farms of them and all you had to do was pick one out and take it home? He never had a real Christmas tree growing up. It was always a small plastic one that was already pre-decorated.

"Tree!" Harry cried out, pointing his finger at it.

"Good boy, Harry. It's a tree." Lily said praising him. Severus walked over to the pile of decorations that Lily had gotten from when she went to the store earlier that morning. They were all in desperate need of real food and other common household items. It was then that she decided to doll out a questionable amount of money on an endless pit of tinsel, bulbs, and lights.

"Sev, what are you doing?"

"Putting on bulbs?"

"You can't do that."

"And why not?"

"Because lights go on first, then tinsel, then you hang the bulbs in the spaces left." Lily said as if this was common sense.

"Sorry, I wasn't aware that there was a method to all this madness."

"It's not madness, it's yuletide fun." Severus smiled and rolled his eyes. Lily picked up the lights and started winding them around the tree.

"Harry, your mum is making this harder than it has to be." Severus said as he crouched down next to him. Lily peeked at them from the other side of the tree.

"Sev, don't corrupt my son."

"I would never." Lily squinted her eyes and went back to work and before Severus could again question her behavior, she had the entire tree wound in bright lights of all different colors.

"Isn't electricity nice?" Lily said as they admired her work.

"Magic's nicer."

"Oh, shut it and help me put these bulbs on."

"But that's messing up the order of adornment. You said it goes lights, tinsel, and _then_ bulbs."

"Yea well, I changed my mind." Severus followed Lily as they both put numerous sized bulbs on the branches. Harry sat completely transfixed on the spectacle before him and had the same wide-mouthed stare that he had in the great hall.

"Why can't I be a few inches taller?" Lily complained as she stretched to place an ornament towards the top. In that moment, Severus got the sudden urge to touch her and with her vulnerable position, he planned his attack. He snuck around behind her quietly and as her arms were stretched upward he grabbed her sides and tickled.

"Sev!" She immediately gasped, with a tone of seriousness and amusement, and tried to curl up her body to get his hands off of her. "Sev, stop!" She was now laughing very hard (despite her attempt to sound threatening), which made Harry laugh and clap.

"No need to yell."

"No need to sneak up and tickle me like that." Lily said wiping away tears from laughing.

"Do you need help with that ornament?"

"No." Lily said sarcastically as she handed it to him.

"Should I really turn my back on you?" He said, raising his eyebrows.

"I don't know. Should you?" She countered, crossing her arms.

"Well, you'll want revenge."

"That's a possibility. Are you _scared_?"

"Hardly." Severus scoffed as he turned around to face the tree. That was the biggest mistake because the second he did, Lily took action. She cast a body bind hex on him and he fell to the ground completely immobile. For some reason he found that a turn-on in a weird sort of way and quickly banished the thought before anything noticeable became of it.

Lily crouched down next to him, "You really shouldn't have messed with me, Sev. I think I'm the only person who knows where all your ticklish spots are." He couldn't do anything, but was more than happy to accept any physical contact from her.

"Harry, come here." Harry slid off the couch and pattered over to Lily and the still frozen Severus. "On the count of three, we're gonna tickle him, OK?" Harry nodded and grinned. "1, 2, 3!" The assault of finger jabs began and there wasn't a thing Severus could do about it. He lied there helpless, but laughing hysterically, while Lily sought her payback in the form of a 2 on 1 tickle fight. _More like 2 on none. _Severus thought. It was really the only thing he could think about as Lily's hands moved over him, in the most innocent way possible, but yet her hands all the same. She was giggling along with Harry as they finally backed off and the body bind hex wore off. Severus sat up, his abs aching from laughter, taking a long breathe in.

"Even?"

"Even" She replied, grinning.

"That was cruel."

"But did it teach you something?"

"Yes, to disarm you before turning my back on you." They both chuckled and winced at the same time. Lily looked up at the clock.

"Harry, we need to get you in bed! Santa will be here soon!"

"Oh, no!" Harry said in a tiny concerned voice and made his way over to the stairs, tugging Lily's hand. Severus sat down on the couch as she took Harry up to his bed. He thought about the numerous presents that he and Lily had gotten in Hogsmeade a week ago. She had asked if he would come with her, to help pick out things for Harry. "James had always known what to get him." She had said, and Severus hoped that that wasn't the beginning of a holiday depression, however, they went shopping and came back with all sorts of toys and simple magical items for the one-year old. Severus had also gotten Lily something, but he had gotten it at least a month ago. He was anxious to give it to her tomorrow and hoped that she wouldn't think that he needed anything in return.

"What are you thinking about?" Lily said as she plopped down next to him. He had been just gazing at the lit tree the entire time she was upstairs and hadn't even noticed her return.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" She said as she raised an eyebrow. She grabbed her wand off the table and flicked it. About a dozen gifts magically appeared under the tree, already wrapped, along with two cups of hot chocolate.

"Lily, you know I can't have it-"

"Without cinnamon and peppermint. I know." She said smiling and picking up her mug. "Who do you think got you hooked on it like that in the first place?" He picked up his mug and took a sip of the steaming drink. It warmed his throat as it went down and reminded him of the holidays at the Evans' house. He looked down and noticed Lily was fiddling with her wedding ring, twisting it around her finger, and sliding it on and off.

"Are you OK?"

"Yea." _Lie._

"No, I mean, like, _really_ OK?"

There was a momentary pause and then her hear it, "Sev…" She whispered, and she looked up at him with tear brimmed eyes. He didn't even think about pulling her to him, it was purely instinct. He grabbed her right as the tears spilt and she leaned into him, pressing her face so tightly to his shoulder that he was sure she was going to suffocate. His hands on her back, he felt it go up and down with her sobs. It was the first time she had actually cried, out loud, like this in months. Almost in pain and Severus hated when this happened. He could almost guarantee that James probably never had to hear her cry like this, and in Severus' opinion, should be grateful he didn't.

"Shh," He whispered softly in her ear, "You're okay." He rocked her until her sobs quieted and her breathing returned to normal. She looked up at him and he loosened his grip a little, but not completely letting go. Her wet eyes sparkled from the Christmas lights and he could tell that her face was blotchy from crying.

"Sev?" She said shakily.

"Yea?"

"Will you do something for me?"

"Anything." She outstretched her hand, the one that bared her wedding ring.

"Take it off, please." Severus was stunned.

"Lily, are you-"

"Just take it off, please." And she held her hand out again. He didn't argue and gently took her hand in his. He slid the gold metal band off her finger and put it in his palm.

"Put it on the tree. Any where'd you like." She said thickly from crying. He slowly got up from the couch, still confused, and slid the ring onto a prominent bough on the tree. She nodded approvingly and he sat back down next to her.

"I just can't have it on right now." She said knowing he'd be curious. He was _very_ curious, but out of respect, wasn't going to ask her about it.

"Sev, look at me." She said grasping his hand. She always knew when he was scared of over stepping his boundaries, when he got all quiet and distant.

"You can hide a lot of things, from a lot of people, but you can't hide something from me."

"I don't- know what-"

"I think you do, Sev." She squeezed his hand again, "I just hate to see you deny yourself things like this. You _deserve_ to be happy…and so do I." She looked up at him with glassy eyes, still bloodshot from crying and saw everything that Severus thought he kept so well hidden. There was no point in hiding it anymore and he let the words slip out of his mouth as if he'd done it a thousand times.

"I love you.

Lily looked at him as if she wasn't surprised. He felt like somehow she had known he was going to say it all along, before he even did. Funny how her mind worked like that.

"Then do something about it."

His actions after she uttered those words were completely spontaneous and a bold shot in the dark. They also went against every rule and boundary that he put up in his mind, but he didn't give a damn. He laid his hands on either side of her face and pressed his lips to her's, gently at first, not wanting to mess this up. He had imagined this his entire life and nothing could come, even remotely close, to what it felt like now. Her soft lips and warm breathe made his heart race and his thinking cloudy. His lips burned, like the side-effect of a bad potion, and he got a swooping feeling in his stomach. Everything in his body told him to keep going, but against his will, he pulled back slowly and slightly out of breath. He watched her face for a reaction, any at all that would tell him whether or not he done the right thing. A gentle smile crept upon her flushed face and he brought his hands down. Before he could get up and think that he had done something wrong, she pulled him into a tight hug, wrapping her arms around her neck and pulling him as close as physically possible. The old clock on the wall chimed in the dark living room, the only light coming from the tree, illuminating the couple on the couch, and Lily whispered softly in his ear, "Merry Christmas, Sev."

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**Hope this put a smile on your face (:**

**-Morg**


	22. Chapter 22

**I shamefully have to ask, once again, for forgiveness on the delay of this update! This chapter just gave me so many troubles, probably karma since last chapter went so...well. This chapter is long and slightly uneventful, but next chapter is going to be** _**great**_** *wink wink*. Time for some good Snily to kick in at last! So, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think! Also, prepare yourself for the next one, okay? Okay. (I didn't just make a TFioS reference). Enjoy! (:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Damn it.**

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Chapter 22

_What's that smell? It's sweet, it's warm, it's…pancakes?_ Severus opened his eyes slowly and blinked a few times. He realized that he was on the couch downstairs and he could smell and hear the sound of pancakes cooking in the kitchen. He looked down and noticed that he was still in the robes he had worn yesterday. His neck ached slightly from using the arm of the couch as a pillow. _Ok, so I slept down here, but Lily was down here with me? Wasn't she? Where did she-_

"Oh, you're up!" Lily said cheerily as she strode into the room. "I wanted to get breakfast ready before Harry got up and had a go at the presents." Nodding her head towards the piles under the tree. "Hope pancakes are good with you?"

"Yea, definitely." Severus sat up, still confused in regards to the events that had transpired last night. _Did we actually kiss or did I dream that? Merlin, it felt real enough._ He chanced a glance at the tree, the spot where he had put Lily's wedding ring last night, and it confirmed that last night was not a dream. It still gleamed gold on the small branch. _Well, it looks way better up there than it ever did on her finger._ Despite Severus' care to look quickly, Lily still saw his gaze shift over to the ring.

"Sev." She said, sitting down on the couch. Severus pulled himself up into a sitting position. "Before you worry, like I know you undoubtly will, I want you to know that I don't regret last night at all and neither should you." She smiled and patted his knee and before he could reply to her, she hurried into the kitchen to flip the pancakes. Severus sighed and rubbed his hands down his face. He needed to change his robes, so he headed upstairs, and as he passed Harry's room, he saw that Harry was standing up in his crib, holding onto the bars.

"Sev!" He called out, bouncing up and down.

"Good morning to you too, Harry." Severus chuckled as he went to lift Harry out. He decided that changing could wait and descended the stairs with the boy in his arms. As the tree and presents came into view, Harry audibly squealed and clapped his hands together excitedly.

"Yes, I know it's magnificent, but your mum will probably want you to eat breakfast first." Severus rolled his eyes. "Her rules, not mine."

"Sev, will you get- Oh, you're one step ahead of me." Lily said as she entered the living room, wiping her hands on a towel. She put her hands on her hips and smiled, "And how's my little boy this morning?"

"Mummy!" He giggled as he wiggled, trying to get out of Severus' arms. He handed Harry to Lily and she kissed him on the top of the head.

"Happy Christmas, sweetheart! Now come on you two, we've got pancakes to eat and presents to open." They all headed into the kitchen and sat down. The entire table was already set and a stack of pancakes was in the middle. They were in the shapes of Santas, bells, and snowflakes. It was Lily's culinary ode to the holidays.

"Nice touch." Severus said smiling and Lily punched him playfully in the arm. "What? I was serious!" He said rubbing his arm.

"Sure you were."

Lily laid pancakes on her plate and Harry's, and waved her wand, slicing Harry's food into tiny pieces, before cutting up her own.

"These are great, Lily." Severus said. She usually never made pancakes for breakfast, which he thought surprisingly odd. She had literally cooked every breakfast food under the sun, but never pancakes.

"Thanks." She chuckled. "Not as great as…" She hesitated briefly and visually composed herself, "Not as great as James used to make them." She smiled and Severus smiled back, assuring her that her mention of James wasn't inappropriate.

"So,-" Lily sighed as if she'd struggled with how to bring it up, "-Dumbledore is having a Christmas party tonight."

"I'm not surprised."

"And he wants us to come."

"_Us_?"

"Yes, us."

"Well, _you_ can go. I'll watch Harry for you."

"No, I want you to come with me."

"Lily, I've never once attended one of Dumbledore's silly parties and I don't ever plan on it."

"Well, you can think about it for a little bit and then decide." She said smirking.

He rolled his eyes, "The answer will still be 'no'."

"We'll see." She looked back down at her plate and Severus' gaze lingered on her. _She's delusional if she actually thinks I'm going._ He looked over as Harry began to squirm in his seat and point towards the living room. He had hardly touched his food, but who could blame him. In his mind, there were more important matters to attend too.

"Alright, alright. I won't torture you any longer." Lily giggled as she let Harry down from his seat and he quickly pitter-pattered away into the living room. She raised her wand to begin cleaning the dishes, when Severus stopped her.

"Why don't you go ahead and I'll get this?"

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." He smiled at her.

"Thanks, Sev." She said happily as she left the kitchen. With a few flicks of his wand, he had all the dishes cleared up and cooking ingredients put away. He could already hear the tearing of paper in the other room and chuckled to himself. _He's got his mother's patience, that's for sure._ When he walked into the living room, Lily was seated on the floor next to Harry, as he messily tore at present that Sirius had sent him.

"It seems as though Harry's unwrapping abilities are almost as good as Sirius' wrapping abilities." Lily chuckled as she held up another small present from Black. The paper was horribly crinkled and there were pieces of tape everywhere.

"Why didn't he just use magic?"

"I don't think he knows a spell to wrap presents. He knows a lot of mischief making spells, but he's hopeless when it comes to practical stuff like this." Lily chuckled. "Oh, look what it is Harry!" She said as the last bit of wrapping was torn off the present. "It's a…toddler Quidditch set?" She held it up for Severus to see.

"That's what it appears to be." It was a box that held a squishy quaffle, a snitch that moved extremely slowly, and bludgers that flew around hitting each other, instead of the toddler (luckily there were no bats to hit anything with).

"Sirius already wants Harry to be a Quidditch star. He's absolutely barmy." Lily giggled as she set it aside. A few more gifts were opened, all of them for Harry. Soon, Lily reached for a smaller present, more neatly wrapped, and noticed it bared her name. _Is this the gift that Sev got me so long ago? The one he almost let slip when he was in a feverish delirium._ Her heart beat quickened and she realized just how excited she was to finally open it. She tried to contain her anticipation by not ripping the paper off swiftly (though it took everything she had not to).

"Sev, you really didn't have to get anything for me." She said as the small box that the paper concealed was finally in her hand.

"How do you know it was from me?"

"Well, uh-," It was true, there was no name on it except hers, "-uh, I- you said some things a while back, when you were sick." He clamped his hand over his face and shook his head.

"So, I assume you already know what it is?" He said dejectedly.

"No, no, you didn't give me specifics." She said giggling.

"Oh, good." He sounded relieved. "Well, go on then, open it."

Lily slowly lifted the lid and in the box laid a necklace. Lily let out a small gasp as she picked it up gently. It was a simple gold chain with a small stone pendant, a shining red ruby, that glittered in the light.

"Sev, it's so beautiful!" She said in astonishment. She immediately got up and hugged Severus while saying thank you only a few dozen times.

"Don't you want to know what it does?" He said raising an eyebrow. Lily looked at him confusedly.

"What do you mean? It's a necklace. What more can it do besides adorn necks?"

"Well, yours does something a little more than that." Her eyes widened as if just getting a necklace wasn't enough. "Touch your wand to the ruby." He instructed her and as she did, she became even more confused.

"What's it supposed- Oh!" She gasped as the charm began to take effect.

"What do you see?" Severus asked, grinning at Lily's reaction.

"Well, I see….me and you? Standing here in the living room, but it's as if I'm seeing us from…"

"From Harry's point of view?" He asked.

"Yes!" She laughed. "But why?"

"The necklace is charmed to show you exactly what Harry is seeing, so you always will know his surroundings, in case you happen to lose him."

"That's-"

"That's not all it does though. If you were to apparate while under the charm, it will take you to Harry's exact location. I guess you could consider it a tracking device of sorts." He smiled as Lily absorbed the exact functions of his gift.

"Sev, this truly is amazing. I can't thank you enough!" She said hugging him again and squealing slightly. "Definitely has to be one of the best Christmas presents I've had in a long time!"

"Well, I'm glad you like it."

"Like it? Sev, I love it!" She giggled as she brushed her hair back, wanting Severus to clasp it around her neck. "But one question?"

"Hmm?"

"Why a ruby? I mean I love it, don't get me wrong, but that's a lot of red for one person." She said motioning towards her hair and now necklace.

"Well, a ruby is Harry's birthstone, but if you want-"

"No, no! It's perfect the way it is." She said looking down at it and grinning. "It's perfect."

"Good." Severus sighed happily. _Thank Merlin, she loves it. It looks great on her too. The way it sits right between her-_

"Sev, you've got to open yours now!" Lily said, thrusting a gift into his hands and sitting down next to him on the couch.

"I didn't need anything." He said politely.

"Yea, just like _I_ didn't need anything." She said motioning towards her necklace.

Severus turned the present over in his hands and unwrapped it. He soon a held a medium-sized brown leather bound book. It had nothing on the cover and, as he opened it and flicked through the pages, he found that they too, had nothing written on them.

"A diary?" He said holding it up.

"No, it's not a diary. Don't you think I know you at all?" Lily scoffed sarcastically. "It's a potion's book. Whatever potion you want the recipe for, just hold the book in your wand hand and think about the potion. Open up the book and there it should be." She smiled with a look of satisfaction.

"But where did you manage to find this?"

"Can't tell you. A few bribes here and few well-placed transactions there. Nothing you need to worry about." Severus raised his eyebrows at her response.

"Merlin, Lily, it's fantastic! Thank you!"

"You're very welcome, Sev!"

* * *

The rest of the morning passed lazily as Harry played endlessly with his new toys, some Lily approved of more than others, but eventually they wore him out and he laid down for a nap. Severus and Lily had cleaned up all the wrapping paper and his toys, realizing that with all these new toys would also come new messes. As they sat together in the living room, Lily brought up the Christmas party again.

"So, have you thought about going yet?"

"Not really." He said glancing up from a copy of the Prophet.

"Well, I think you really should."

"Lily, is there something you're not telling me?" He asked folding the paper, to look at her. She fiddled her hands nervously before sighing.

"Ok, I bought you something else."

Severus sighed back, "And what would that be?"

"Uhm…new dress robes." She said quietly.

"Dress robes?"

"Yea, I thought that maybe you'd go to the party with me and maybe you'd need some nice new dress robes for it." She waited for his answer, knowing that this was the last chance she had at making him go. His face was unreadable as he mulled it over in his mind.

"Ok, I'll go." Lily squealed happily. "But I don't want to stay long."

"That's fine. It starts at 8 and we can apparate outside the castle grounds from here. Oh Sev, thank you so much!" She said hugging him and then running upstairs to get ready. _Oh, the things I do for that woman._

By the time 7:30 rolled around, Lily had managed to get everyone ready, including herself, and find a babysitter for Harry. She had sent a Patronus message to Molly Weasley, a fellow Order member, and asked if she wasn't too busy tonight to watch Harry. She had replied back quickly, saying that she could never be too busy for little Harry, though, Lily couldn't understand that to be possible, with her huge family certainly there had to be little time to spare for anything. None the less, she got Harry ready to go off to the Weasley's for the evening. As she finished gathering a bag for him, she waited patiently downstairs for Severus. She had gotten him plain black dress robes, that were simple, but elegant at the same time. For tonight, she had chosen to wear, being as cliché as it was possible to be, an emerald green dress. It was the only color that went well with her hair and now her necklace. It wasn't loose by any means, but it wasn't so tight fitting that it made her look, well, lacking in self-respect. Her gaze shifted up to her wedding ring that still dangled from the tree. _Oh, James, I really do wish you were here._ It was the first she had thought about him all day, realizing that this was her first Christmas without him. Her thoughts were interrupted by a small cough. She turned around and saw Severus standing on the stairs, donning his new robes.

"Sev, you look great!" Lily said slightly stunned. He really did know how to clean himself up. _He looks so…handsome._

"Not as good as you." He said, motioning towards her outfit. _She looks good. Too good. Her dress shows off everything. Merlin, help me get through this evening._

"We better get going. Molly's expecting Harry and you know Dumbledore won't approve if we're late." She picked up Harry and his bag and stood next to Severus as they prepared to apparate. _Is that cologne he's wearing? _She thought, as the living room was whisked away and was replaced by the Weasley's front doorstep. She knocked and the door opened revealing a tall balding man.

"Ah, Lily!" He said cheerily. "Happy Christmas! Please, come in!"

"Thank you, Arthur. Severus and I are just here to drop off Harry. I'm afraid we can't stay long either."

"Oh, no matter, no matter. Molly's just upstairs bathing Ron." He said as he was handed Harry and his bag.

"Well, we'll be off now. Tell Molly I said Happy Christmas and thanks again for watching Harry." Lily said smiling and waving.

"Will do!"

They exited the Burrow and apparated again to the castle gates. They opened and they made their way up the grounds to the castle steps.

"It's just in the great hall. Staff and few others."

"A few others?"

"Yes."

"You aren't going to elaborate?"

"Sirius and Remus." Severus was glad it was dark because it concealed his eye roll and scowl. "But, they'll probably leave soon anyways. I imagine Sirius has already had too much to drink and Remus will have to take him home."

"The only thing that could make seeing Black worse would be seeing him when he's inebriated." Severus said. Lily sighed at his obvious distaste and as they reached the castle doors, she reached down and intertwined her fingers with his.

"You're my date, Sev." She squeezed his hand. He squeezed back as a thought came to mind, _Maybe this evening won't be so bad if it happens to end like last night. _With complete hope he was led into the great hall, for his first Christmas party, that he would soon find out would be one he'd never forget.

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**As always, thank you for reading, and please review! I appreciate them all so much! Also to the guest that mentioned the last chapter being the end- Uhm, definitely not! We've got so much to do with this story that the first twenty chapters are literally just the tip of the iceberg! If you want, you can also follow me on Tumblr- .com! I'll clog up your dash with wonderful things! Again, thanks for reading, and I promise that the next chapter will be up soon!**

**-Morgan (:**


	23. Chapter 23

**Man oh man, this chapter was a hindrance. I knew exactly what I wanted to write, but I, for the life of me, could not get it out the way I wanted to. However, this evening, I got my shit together and finished it. You're welcome and I hope you all enjoy! I'd like to thank all of you guys for the reviews. They are lovely and greatly appreciated (I do hate the guest ones though because I can't reply to you!). Anyways, you're Snilyness is here and it's here for good. (:**

**Disclaimer: I'm disclaiming that I'm J.K. Rowling. **

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Chapter 23

Severus and Lily could already hear the light conversation and tinkling of glasses echoing from the great hall as they approached the open doors that were decorated with white tinsel. Lily made no hesitation on entering and Severus followed had no choice, but to enter briskly behind her.

"Lily, my dear! Happy Christmas! I'm so glad you could make it!" Dumbledore called, smiling broadly, his already cheeks rosy from one to many Brandys.

"Happy Christmas to you too, Headmaster!" Lily said as Dumbledore embraced her.

"And do my old eyes deceive me?" Dumbledore said, squinting his eyes at Severus, "It must've taken a Christmas miracle to get Severus here." He laughed and Lily tried to contain her smile. Severus, however, was not amused and was already longing to leave. He hated affairs like this, especially with his colleagues, and to make matters worse, he was now a rumor-raising accessory to Lily. He could already tell that he would end up following Lily's lead the entire evening and that would probably earn them curious looks as to why they're spending Christmas together.

"Oh, I can assure you, Albus, that even though I'm here, I am in no way enjoying it." The Headmaster chuckled at his so "Severus like" remark.

"Well, at least Lily can talk some sense into you. Merlin knows I've tried hard enough." He nodded to the both of them and quickly glanced at Lily's left hand. Severus saw his eyes shift immediately and knew exactly what he saw, or _didn't_ see. Lily, however, didn't notice it and giggled as Albus glided away, "He's in a right state, isn't he?"

"Yea, well, when isn't he." _Shocking he didn't mention the missing wedding ring. Oh, I'm sure I'll hear about it before the night is out._

"Oh, look! There's Sirius!" She waved her arm in the air as Sirius strode over, one hand in his pocket and the other holding a drink. He had obviously groomed himself up for the occasion, in his most pompous and arrogant fashion.

"How goes Christmas, Potter?" He asked, grinning.

"Great! Thank you for Harry's gifts. He's already enjoyed them and he hasn't even had them for a day."

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but I can shop for toys like Snape over here can brew potions." He said, glancing over at Severus.

"You can buy great gifts, yes, but you can't wrap them." Lily joked.

"Bloody difficult." He said and as quick as it had come, his grin faded and his tone became serious. "How've you been holding up today?"

Lily looked down at the floor then back up, "Fine, actually. Not as bad as I thought it might be."

"Well, I'm glad." He said putting his hand on her shoulder.

"And you?"

"Getting along I suppose. I've had a proper drink now and I feel loads better." _Typical Black, _thought Severus, _Drinking away your problems won't help. Trust me, I've tried._ "Would you like one?"

"Oh no, I'm OK. Thanks." Lily said declining a drink. She had always been touchy around alcohol, when she was with Severus, since that evening back at the beginning of the year.

"Snape?"

"No, thank you."

Sirius shrugged, "Suit yourself."

"So, where's Remus?"

"Ah, he didn't feel like coming tonight. Begged him to come, but he wouldn't budge. He did tell me to wish you a happy Christmas and he hopes that you're keeping your spirits up."

"Well, tell him that I miss him and want to see him sometime. He needs to come over and see Harry."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "Come over where?" Lily tensed up slightly. He probably thought that she had gotten a place to live somewhere for the holidays and summer. She had never planned on having to tell him that she was staying at Severus' house.

"Uhm- Well, Harry and I are staying at Sev's for Christmas." Sirius sighed and took a swig of his drink.

"So, it's true then?" He spat.

Lily gave him a look of confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"You two. Being a couple, living together, probably shagging." Lily's hand twitched to slap him, but knew this wasn't the place and that it might be the alcohol talking. Severus also clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He, however, had expected this uncalled remark from Black.

"Yes, we live together, but Severus and I are _not_ dating and we are most certainly _not_ shagging!" She said in one angry breath. "Don't ever say something like that to me again."

"Sorry Lily, I just couldn't help but notice that you don't even have your wedding ring on." Sirius retorted back and scoffed, "Some kind of wife you are."

Severus held his breath for the inevitable wrath that Sirius was about to face for his comment, however, it never came. He looked over at Lily and her face was blank and turning slightly red with anger. She didn't blink or move, and then quickly turned and stalked out of the great hall. Sirius was left standing there with Severus. It was time for him to say something.

"You dare talk to her like that." Severus whispered venomously.

"Yes, I do. You dare try to mess around with a widow, try to get her to love you and be a part of your life. Lily might not realize what you're getting at, but I do and it's my job to make sure that you don't overstep your boundaries."

"Boundaries? Your job? Black, I can't imagine how any of this is up to you. This is up to Lily and Lily alone. Stay out of it." His eyes squinted in fury.

"Whatever, but know this. You hurt her in _any_ way and you'll have me to deal with." Sirius took the last gulp of his drink and left the hall. Severus glared at him as he exited and then followed out the doors to look for Lily. He went down the corridor and found her pacing angrily in front of a bench, her hands in her hair. Severus laid a hand on her shoulder to stop her. She looked up at him and crossed her arms.

"You shouldn't listen to him."

"How can't I? He's my son's godfather, my husband's best friend." She said, exasperated.

"But he is so wrong. You aren't a terrible wife, Lily." She sat down with a sigh and put her head in her hands. "Lily, I think the only thing that's got him worked up is that it's _me_ that you're spending time with. If it was anyone else, he probably wouldn't give a damn, but he hates me and hates that you and Harry are with me all the time."

"Yea, okay, but I'm not wearing my wedding ring." She subconsciously rubbed her finger where the ring should be.

"And that was your choice. Sirius can't possibly be mad that _you_ chose not to." She didn't respond to him, but he heard her moan, "What would James think…"

"I think that if he was any type of proper husband, he would respect your decisions one hundred percent." Severus said quietly, his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped together. Lily looked over at him and he was looking at the floor.

"You know, you were more alike than you think." He looked over at her like she was absolutely crazy.

"Uhm-?" Lily smirked at his confusion.

"I mean you both are understanding, kind, and respectful." Severus scoffed. "Maybe not to each other, of course, but to the people that you care about."

"So, I'm like James. Great."

"Well, that explains some things…" Lily said twisting her hands together. Severus looked at her questioningly.

"Do you even know why let I you kiss me last night?" She said standing up.

"Christmas spirit?" He stood up next to her.

Lily chuckled, "No." She grabbed his hands. "Because I _wanted_ you to." Severus felt like he'd never be able to take another breathe again. His hands that she held so softly, had become completely numb. _I have to be dreaming. She can't actually be saying this. _

"I've thought about it for a while now- and I think we should try it."

"Try _it_?"

"As in _us_, being more than friends." _Bloody hell, I can't feel my extremities. Come on, don't pass out and for Merlin's sake, do not throw up!_

"Lily, I- Are you sure?"

She took a deep breath in. "Yes." Severus' heart beat was frantic and his blood felt like boiling water. "You told me you loved me last night, so here's me telling you the same." She let go of his hands and wrapped her arms around his neck drawing him close. Her warm breath, positively intoxicating, was so dangerously close to his lips. Her voice, in a barely audible whisper, uttered the words.

"I love you." And before saying anything more, she pressed her lips to his. Severus put his hands on her waist and she gripped the front of his robes, pulling the fabric tightly into her fingers. The kiss was quickly turning more passionate as Lily moved her lips against his. For Severus, time felt like it had completely stopped. He couldn't see anything, he couldn't hear anything. It was almost as if all of his senses were completely disabled by Lily. As if he thought it couldn't get any more mind-numbing, she opened her mouth and allowed his tongue access, which he took immediately. His hands instinctively moved lower on her hips and, without a thought; he carefully backed her up against the stone wall. Lily smiled under his lips, glad that he was taking some control, but all too soon, she pulled her head back to take a breath. She smiled, laughed breathlessly, and laid her forehead against Severus'.

"I'm glad you stopped." He said smiling, still holding on to her hips.

"And why's that? I thought you were rather enjoying yourself." She joked.

"Well, that was the problem. I had no intentions of stopping." Severus said smirking. It was true that he wasn't sure how long he could carry on in that manner before his arousal became…all too evident.

"So, will you escort the "World's Number One Worst Wife" back to the party?"

"Oh, most certainly." Severus said extending his arm.

"So, tell me, are you glad you came here?" Lily said, as she held his arm and walked back to the great hall.

"Oh, I'm sure I could've found _something_ better to do, but I do say, it wasn't all a waste of time." He said sarcastically.

As they slipped back in, their absence hardly noticed, they each picked up a butterbeer and made it, conversation by conversation, through the staff.

"Severus?" Snape whirled around from his conversation with Professor Flitwick to face Dumbledore.

"Yes, Headmaster?"

"May I have a word?"

"Yes, sir." He excused himself and followed Albus out into the corridor. Now that he had a little to drink, he wasn't so irritated by Dumbledore's requests.

"So?" Severus said sighing.

"I think you know."

"No, I'm afraid you'll have to tell me."

"Did Lily enjoy your advances?" Severus scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Why don't you ask her?"

"Well, that would be intrusive, don't you think?" Albus raised his eyebrows.

"Of course, regarding people's privacy, because you're _so_ good at that."

"Well, to quell rumors before they begin, you two aren't-"

"No."

"You don't-"

"No."

"You're not planning-"

"No, we're just…friends." Severus said into his drink. _Though, I'm not sure that after tonight, friends is hardly the right word._

"Friends?" Dumbledore chuckled. "Your display of affection was more than friendly."

"Well, sorry. We didn't know we had an audience." Severus turned to leave when Albus put a hand on his shoulder.

"Unlike Black, I think you're what Lily needs and luckily for you, you're what she wants too." He winked as he waltzed of lightly humming to himself. Severus took one, last, long gulp of his butterbeer before happily returning to Lily's side for the evening.

* * *

**I have absolutely no idea why I wanted Sirius to be a total asshole, but I did. I love him so much in the series and personally I don't think he'd ever do what he did here, but it felt right with the story (and it creates some good drama!). Anyways review, follow, favorite, whatever it is you want to do and I'll get busy doing what I do (writing the next chapter).**

**-Morgan (:**


	24. Chapter 24

**Ok, so two things happened. One, I had my first week of school this week and it kicked my ass. Two, I just found out that I'm moving from Pennsylvania (where I've spent my entire 16 years) to Iowa. So, in between all of that, did I have a lot of time to write? No, sir, I did not, but never fear, I got a chapter done. I'm sorry if I worried anyone that I was abandoning this story, which, of course, absolutely is not and never will be the case! Also, to the reviewer bookivore, you will find that this chapter has slightly stepped up the drama plot. It will only increase from here. Once again, that you all for being so patient with my daily life and enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Not Jo Rowling. Never will be.**

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Chapter 24

"Mummy…mummy!"

Lily's eyes fluttered open slowly as she was awoken from deep sleep by Harry's calling. She blinked a few times, rubbed her eyes and sat up, thankfully in her own bed, alone. The images of last night were slightly hazy to her at the moment, as well as how she ended up at home and in bed, but her body told her two things for sure about last night. The slight ache in her head, _I obviously drank,_ and the taste in her mouth, _I was obviously snogging someone._ Of course, as she smiled to herself, she couldn't forget _who _she was snogging. _He was good. Great, actually. _She smirked as she made it a point to ask him where he learned all of that. She pushed her covers off and swung her legs over the edge of the bed as Harry called again.

"I'm coming, sweetheart!" It was only then that Lily realized it was strange that Severus hadn't heard or gotten up with Harry yet. Both Harry and Severus were early-risers when they wanted to be, so it was usually Severus who got up with him. Lily grabbed her wand as she walked across the hallway to Harry's room, where he stood, as expected, standing up and clinging to the bars of his crib.

"Mummy!" His face lit up and he grinned.

"Good morning, Harry." Lily cooed at him as she kissed the top of his head and lifted him out of his crib. Instead of immediately heading downstairs, Lily peered into Severus' room. The door was ajar and she knocked lightly as she leaned her head in.

"Sev?"

There was no response, so she pushed the door open to reveal his bed. Empty and made.

"Huh, I wonder where he's gone off to." She said to Harry as she shut the door and went downstairs. She promptly entered the kitchen, to find Severus absent from there too. She set Harry in his high chair as she started making tea. _He didn't tell me he was leaving. Didn't leave a note. Sometimes he can be so bloody frustrating. _As she sat at the table with her mug of tea, she had some time to really mull over her and Severus' increased affection last night. Lily had enjoyed herself more than she expected and the best part was that she felt absolutely no guilt. Of course, James seeped into her thoughts more than once when she kissed Severus, but never once did they influence her decisions in any way. She also hadn't allowed Severus to affect her personal decisions either. _I didn't end up on his lap last night because it's just what he wanted or that I felt like I had to. I really wanted to. _A familiar crack resounded through the house, subsequently followed by light foot steps into the kitchen. Severus was looking down at his cloak, brushing flakes of snow off, obviously ignorant to Lily and Harry in the room.

"Where've you been off to this morning?"

He looked up quickly and then sighed, "Oh! Lily, you startled me. I didn't know you'd be up yet." Severus moved towards the counter to pour himself a cup of tea, in what Lily noticed, to be his irritable fashion.

Lily took a deep breath in and turned around in her chair, "Alright, what happened?"

Severus crossed his arms and leaned against the counter, "Nothing happened."

"Don't lie to me, Sev. It doesn't work." She smirked.

"Well, I don't want to talk about it anyways."

"Let me guess, there's only a few people who can work you up like this. One is dead, one is sitting in this room, and the other…Dumbledore?" Severus rolled his eyes in confirmation. "So you went to Hogwarts this morning and?"

"Talked."

"About?"

"Things." Lily's eyes followed him as he joined her at the table.

She sighed, "Oh please, I know he makes you mad, but being vague isn't going to help anything."

"Lily, trust me when I say, that the subject of our conversation is not your favorite and you wouldn't be thrilled to know what was said and…what was _requested._" Lily could see the genuine worry and anxiousness in his face. She could see him replaying exchanged words between Dumbledore and himself in his head and sifting through them like only he could. She knew exactly what he was doing. He was deciding what to tell her and what to leave out. He was tailoring his words so that they wouldn't upset or anger her in anyway which she noticed he did a lot of. Instead of pressing the subject, she decided to drop it until later.

"We'll talk about this later. Okay?"

He looked up, glanced at Harry, and then locked eyes with Lily. Realization struck her immediately and her fingers tightened around her cup, her body noticeably stiffened.

"It _didn't_."

"It did." Severus said quietly, "But, like you said, we'll talk about it later." He got up from the table and went upstairs to change, leaving Lily to her thoughts once again at the table.

* * *

"Stop it."

"Stop, what?"

"Your page turning."

"And what is wrong with my bloody page turning?" Lily asked exasperatedly. She and Severus had spent the entire day either purposely avoiding each other or, if and when they spoke, it was short and particularly cross. Severus had been short-tempered because of his meeting with Dumbledore and neither of them wanted to bring it up. They now sat at either end of the couch, Severus in a sitting position with Lily's feet on his lap. They were reading, as was their normal routine after Harry went to bed.

"You make far too much noise. Everyone else can noiselessly turn a page, but you, you can't. Haven't you noticed?"

"No sorry, I didn't notice. Surprised you could hear it over the sound of you being a complete arse." She exaggeratedly shut her book and got up. Her hasty exit broke Severus out of his reverie, causing him to stand up.

"Lily, I didn't mean-"

She turned back at him, her eyes squinted in anger, "Can't you just grow up and stop fighting yourself. Stop fighting _me_, for Merlin's sake! Sev, you can tell me anything, including whatever Dumbledore told you today!"

"I just- I don't know if you can handle it."

"Can't handle it? Sev, I don't know if you realize this, but I've been through _a lot_. There's not much you could throw at me anymore. Nothing that could really shock me." She tuned to leave the room again when Severus grabbed onto her wrist. He could feel her pulse underneath his fingers and it was racing. She was scared to hear what he had to say and that's why she was acting like this. He realized the same went for him as well. They were both equally scared and it practically drove them mad. He took both of her hands and he looked her in the eyes, hoping she'd stay and listen to him.

His voice was soft, "Lily, I know very well what you can handle and I'm not trying to shock you or surprise you. It's just…I like seeing you happy…and what I have to say might take that away." He dropped her hands and sat heavily in the chair by the lit fireplace. The orange flames danced and gave the room a liquefied look. Lily's face had relaxed and the annoyance that had once been there had completely faded into understanding and nervousness. She took a seat on the floor, closer to the fire, her back to Severus.

"Just tell me." She spoke into the fire. "The quicker the better."

Severus stared at her silhouette that sat before him. For once in his life, he was glad that he couldn't see her face.

"Ok, so this morning Dumbledore asked for a meeting. A meeting about- about Voldemort."

"Sit with me."

"What?"

"Come down here and sit next to me. I think I want you to." Lily asked, her knees drawn up to her chest. Severus slid out of his chair and down onto the floor. He scooted next to her and sat cross-legged.

"So, as I was saying, Voldemort- Dumbledore reckons he'll be back and because of this, he has three things for you and me. Some information and some requests." Severus let a long breathe out. "And this is where it gets tricky." Lily held out her hand. She always knew precisely when he needed it the most. He intertwined his fingers with hers, she gave a tiny squeeze, and he continued on. "The most straight forward bit is the request for me. He wants me to uh- well, when Voldemort returns, he wants me to join the inner circle again and of course be a spy." Lily's grip tightened and she jerked her head.

"That's bloody suicide."

"Naturally."

"I won't let you do it, but go on, continue." Lily sighed and turned her head towards the fire once more.

"The second request is one for you. You see, Dumbledore thinks he has an idea of how to kill Voldemort…permanently. Of course, he can only guess, but you know how oddly precise he can be. He thinks that the secret to Voldemort's, shall we say, immortality, is known by someone who is fairly fond of _you_, and that's why Dumbledore feels you'd be his best play at getting it."

"Getting what?" Lily's voice was shaking slightly.

"A memory."

"From?"

"Professor Horace Slughorn."

Lily's breathe hitched. "He couldn't possibly know something like that about Voldemort, could he?"

"Well, like Dumbledore said, it can only be a guess. A very educated and well-thought out guess, but again, nothing too concrete. You see, Slughorn used to teach Voldemort, or as he was known at the time, Tom Riddle, and he thinks that he told Tom something and whatever he told him, though ignorant at the time, might have turned out to be quite destructive." Severus paused to meet Lily's gaze. She was biting her lip, as if she was already formulating how to get the old professor to talk.

"But this…this is where Harry comes in. The information that I was given." She nodded for him to continue. _Why the hell do I have to be the one to tell her this? Why can't Dumbledore just give me a break?_ Severus thought.

"Dumbledore believes that Harry- Well, on the night that- You see, he thinks- " Lily quitely leaned over and softly touched her lips to Severus'. It was uncalled for and it was by total surprise, but she knew it might be the one thing that could calm him down and help him finish his story. She could tell by the fire that he was blushing, probably because her impromptu kiss cured his stuttering speech.

"Ok, well then, Dumbledore thinks that on the night Harry survived-" _Harry survived, good. Don't want to make it worse by saying 'on the night James died'._ "-Voldemort might have done something quite unintended. He thinks that somehow, Voldemort transferred some of his _powers_ to Harry."

"No, certainly not."

"Lily-"

"My son isn't like Voldemort."

"That's not what Dumbledore's saying. And powers isn't all that he gave to Harry. He might have given him something a lot worse."

"What's that?"

"I'm not sure. Dumbledore wouldn't tell me."

"Are you serious? He really couldn't tell you what's "worse than powers"?"

"No, not yet anyways, but this is where you come in. Slughorn might know more about what could've happened that night or what Voldemort had been up to over the years. It would be a huge factor in defeating him for good."

"So, I need to get a memory from Slughorn that might explain why and how Voldemort can come back?"

"Yes."

"And it'll tell me more about what's happened to Harry. Even though nothing is remotely wrong with him?"

"Yes."

She sighed, "That a lot to do."

"I said the same thing. But you should have seen Dumbledore. He was trying so hard to stress the importance of this, like it _really_ mattered to him and that's what worries me. Is when Dumbledore knows he's still one step behind Voldemort and that this might be the only way to catch up."

Lily stood up, pulling Severus with her. She wrapped her arms around his mid-section, drawing him close to her. He still couldn't believe how warm it made him feel when she did this. She rested her chin on his shoulder and spoke into his ear.

"I trust him and I trust that what he wants is what must be done." Severus kissed Lily lightly on the side of the head.

"Good."

"What a bloody mess." Lily started to giggle lightly.

"We are in quite the mess." Severus smiled for the first time that day. Lily pulled back to look at his face.

"But I'm glad it's with you, Sev." She leaned in for the second time that night and captured his lips, this time a little harder. After a few seconds, Severus pulled back.

"Quick question. What exactly are we?"

"Well, whatever you want us to be." Lily said cryptically.

"So, like- are we-"

"in a relationship?" She finished for him. He smiled at her as she smiled back.

"Are you sure?"

"Sev, we made-out like hormonal teenagers last night, it was hardly an appropriate demonstration of _just_ friendship."

"So we're-" His words were left unfinished as she pulled his face close again and whispered on his lips.

"Lovers." He was almost driven insane by her words as she kissed him passionately once more before bidding him good night and ascending the stairs quietly. Severus was left standing in the darkened living room, the once blazing fire, now reduced to glowing embers, thinking about the turns his life had taken in just one day. Though his dangerous commitment to Dumbledore and Voldemort hadn't expired, he now officially had the one thing he never had. Life had always one-upped him, James bloody Potter had always one-upped him, well now, he had just blown life out of the water. Lily was his _girlfriend_. His knees were weak and his head felt like it was floating. _You know, after all this time, I didn't think I would actually come out on top, but Merlin, what a pleasant surprise._

* * *

**Thanks again for reading! Let me know what you think and remember, that I am in school, so updates may only be once a week (hopefully never more than that), but we'll see. I will also NEVER EVER give up on this story or abandon it. I'm here to finish it and I hope you all stick around to do the same! (:**


	25. Chapter 25

**It's been two weeks and I hate myself for it. I can only say that I had a terrible case of writers block and then suddenly over the past few days I finally got back into it. I really hope no one thought I had stopped the story! That will never EVER be the case! I hope you enjoy this chapter! You all certainly deserve it for having to wait so damn long!**

**Disclaimer: Not Jo...Not even two weeks later.**

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Chapter 25

The remainder of the Christmas holiday passed relatively quickly and was comprised of idle days in front of the warm fire while snow fell in thick blankets outside. Lily and Severus had both become rather comfortable with their "modified" relationship. Them being more than friends was seen as only a "modification" in both of their eyes because they didn't have to act differently around each other or try to impress one another every day. Everything was exactly the same between them except for one small difference. They couldn't keep their hands off each other. Whether it was a brush of the hand or a light kiss on the cheek neither of them showed any will-power in that area. Of course, Severus suggested they get it out of their systems know before they return to Hogwarts. His exact words were,

"This isn't…" Kissed Lily on the forehead, "..going.." Kissed her on the cheek. "…to work…" Kissed her neck. "…at Hogwarts." He finally finished his drawn out sentence with a kiss on the lips.

No matter how much time they spent together the remaining days they spent in Spinner's End still represented a well needed interval of mental and physical peace after the news that had been brought upon them at a most inopportune time. In light of recent event, however, a (in Severus and Lily's opinion) great New Year had been ushered in as well as the inevitable return to Hogwarts.

"So what do the sixth-years have to look forward to from their mean potion's professor when they return?" Lily said as she skimmed down Severus' lesson plans for the first week back.

"Nothing too bad." Severus said absentmindedly as he flicked his wand, packing his last bag.

"An acceptable draft of Polyjuice potion and 3 rolls of parchment on its usefulness, effects, and complications…" Lily raised her eyebrows and looked from the parchment to Severus, then back to the parchment.

"What?"

"You don't think that's a bit much for the first week back?"

"Not at all. They're NEWT students now. This _should_ be quite simple actually." Severus sighed and looked around his room, "Okay, I think I'm ready."

"Well, it's about time. Harry and I have been ready for hours." Lily said as she handed Severus back his lesson plans. He flicked his wand and his bags disappeared as he followed Lily downstairs. The trio's bags were piled in front of the fireplace, ready to be flooed back to Hogwarts.

"Ready?" Severus nodded to Lily as she stepped into the fireplace with Harry.

"Yes." She smiled as she gave Severus a quick kiss on the lips and in an instant, vanished in a whoosh of green flames. Severus put all the bags in, took one last glance around the house, and disappeared, only to reappear in his familiar quarters at Hogwarts, however, what he saw wasn't quite familiar. Lily stood in the middle of what used to be a small living room with a huge grin on her face.

"Sooo…what d'you think?"

"I- uh…" Severus didn't know what to say. His chambers had been transformed completely, from a small living space with all the essential rooms to a place, pretty much the size of a full house. The old living room he used to know, which included a hardwood floor with the occasional rug and some mismatched furniture, had been replaced with a completely redecorated room with soft white carpet. There were two black leather couches and a matching recliner. The furniture was centered around a simple coffee table that Harry was already currently using to play with one of his toys.

"This is amazing, Lily." Severus said, still taking in his new surroundings. "What's all this for?"

"Just a little extra Christmas present. For me, probably, more than you." She said sighing contently as her work. "I set these refurbishment charms in place to go off while we were gone. Plus, I had a little help from the house elves too."

"It's so much-"

"Brighter?" Lily giggled. Severus nodded. "Come on. I want to show you the rest."

"You mean this isn't it?"

"Of course not, Sev. Do you really think I could do just _one_ room?" She said as she grabbed his hand and led him to a set of white double doors leading out of the living room. They entered a small hallway with a doorway and a staircase with the same white carpeting that was in the living room.

"Since when have I had an upstairs?"

"Since you've got a little family to live with you." Lily replied winking and then led him through the large walkway. It took them into a large room that had a dining table on one side and the kitchen on the other. The two areas were separated by a half wall. Severus slowly walked over to the kitchen, observing every tiny detail, and ran his hand on the large counter.

"Is this real marble?"

"What do you think?" Lily said sarcastically. It was true, all the counters, including the island in the middle, were all real dark shining marble that accented the white cupboards with glass knobs.

"Harry really liked the cupboard knobs. He was the one who picked them out." Lily said leaning against the island. Severus still stood in the middle of the room, his eyes sweeping over everything, when he noticed a plain door in the back of the kitchen. Lily saw his eyes stop on it and immediately grinned.

"Is it-"

"It is." Lily replied and nodded to Severus as a smirk started to form on his face. He fought to retain composure as he strode over to the door. He slowly turned the knob, feeling like a kid in a candy shop, as what was revealed behind was, in his mind, the best part of his (no our) chambers. It was an entirely new potion's lab, stocked with every ingredient a potioneer could ever think of. The walls were lined with vials, beakers, and boxes, of every color and size, neatly labeled and organized. The only clear space was along one wall where a table stood with a cauldron and burner, along with all of Severus' potion making tools. He still stood holding onto the door knob, taken aback out how much work Lily must've put into just this.

She came up behind him and put her chin on his shoulder, "You like it?"

He turned around and pulled her into a hug, "Lily, its perfect! Thank you so much." He whispered into her neck.

"You're welcome, Sev."

"Mummy!" Harry called. Lily let go of Severus and rushed into the living room. Harry stood pointing his finger at Professor Dumbledore who had obviously just flooed in.

"My apologies for showing up rather unexpectedly and of course for startling Harry, but I was wondering if I might have a word with you, Lily?" Albus said.

"Of course, headmaster. I was just showing Severus here his new living quarters." Lily beamed still noticeably proud of her work.

"Yes, I was just going to compliment you on your magnificent charm work. I trust you like it, Severus?"

"It's great. Unexpected, but great." He said smiling at Lily.

"Well, I do say you could probably make a living redecorating people's houses." Albus replied, chuckling. "But then I'd be down a Charms teacher."

"Doing this once was enough." Lily said politely. "Even for me it was a little frustrating at times."

"Yes, well I just need you for a moment in my office." He said motioning towards the floo. Lily stepped into the fireplace and was quickly followed by Dumbledore, leaving Harry and Severus to look through the rest of the house. Lily sat down in the chair opposite the headmaster's desk and clasped her hands in front of her. She had a feeling about where this conversation was going to go.

"How were your holidays?"

"Great. Your's?"

"Jovial. Of course." Lily giggled at his old-timey choice of wording.

"I expect Severus told you of my proposition."

"Yes. We talked about it."

"And? Are you in?"

"Yes." She sighed, "If it's what we've got to do- to get rid of Voldemort- for good."

"Excellent." Dumbledore sat back in his chair. "I realize that this can't be easy for either of you, but I need you to realize something." He sat forward again. "When Voldemort comes back the one person that will be in the most immediate danger is Harry." Lily looked away from Dumbledore's piercing blue eyes and squeezed her hands together. "Now that doesn't mean that he's not safe. As long as we keep him around the right people, I don't think much harm could come to him." Lily stayed completely rigid, but on the inside she was screaming. _Don't cry. Don't cry. Not in front of Dumbledore. _She hated the scenario she was in so much right now. It was eerily familiar of the conversation she had only a few years ago when Dumbledore had told her and James that they were being hunted.

She took a shaky breath in, "Is that all, Albus?"

"Not quite. I'm aware that some harsh words were exchanged between you, Severs, and Sirius on Christmas?"

"There were." Lily said shortly. Glad that at least he was changing the subject. "But Sirius was…you know, just being Sirius."

"Well, whatever it was, I need it to be put in the past. One of the most important relationships that I need right now, is one between Severus and Sirius." Lily snorted at his request.

"You're asking for a miracle, Dumbledore."

"Then a miracle is what we'll make happen. It is essential that they work well together. I don't need Severus' cover being blown because Black gets angry one day or Severus murdering him for some silly reason. They are two of our best Order members and having them oppose each other doesn't make much room for progress."

"They're both as stubborn as they come."

"Yes, but if anyone can convince them to be better friends, it's you." Lily paused for a moment, mulling over how she'd get the two men to participate in any type of civil conversation.

"Alright, I'll figure something out."

"Thank you. That's all, my dear, have a good evening." He smiled as she left his office, this time through the door.

* * *

"What did he want?" Severus asked, sitting on one of the new couches with Harry, who was already bathed and in his pajamas.

"Oh, just the usual. Voldemort will be back. Harry will be in danger. Nothing new." She said nonchalantly as she sat down next to Severus.

"That's it?"

"Yes." Severus' eyes lingered on her a moment longer. _She's lying. Why is she lying?_

She turned to face him again and with a smile, "So did you see the upstairs?"

"I did."

"And?"

"Harry's room is very nice, but I noticed something curious. You seem to have forgotten a room."

"Forgotten a room?" Lily asked teasingly

"Yes. There is one for Harry and then one other. I'm assuming it's either mine or yours."

"What if I said it's both of ours?" Severus looked at her like she was crazy.

"You're kidding."

"No. Sev, I trust you. Completely. You do realize that I don't plan on being with anyone else- at this point I'm certain you're the only one, so why not share a room now." Lily giggled lightly, "Besides, if we don't work out for some crazy reason, I think I'll just give up on the whole relationship thing for good."

Severus was still staring at her. He had no idea what to think of her decision. A part of him was leaping with joy at the idea of sharing a bed with Lily, it being one his most frequent fantasies; he could hardly believe it to be true. But another side of him wasn't sure that it was a wise idea. That Lily was taking everything a little too fast, just for his sake.

"Sev?" She said snapping her fingers in front of his face. "Is that a problem?" She asked worriedly.

"What? No, no! It's great." He said smiling. No matter what he thought, he could probably never convince himself that sleeping in the same bed as Lily was a worse decision rather than better.

"Good." She said looking down at Harry now sound asleep in Severus' arms. "I'll take him up." She said as he lightly handed Harry to her. She quietly ascended the stairs and Severus followed behind. He turned into their room as she went into Harry's and changed into his pajamas. He usually preferred to sleep in just boxers, but Merlin knows how that would go for his first night actually "sleeping" with Lily. He was desperately hoping that this wouldn't be awkward, but assured himself that he'd fallen asleep with her before, so how should this be any different. He was already laying down when Lily came in and grabbed her pajamas. _Please, don't change in front of me right now. _Severus thought. _I don't need that image in my mind._ Luckily for him, she went into their bathroom and shut the door to change. Within minutes, she came out yawning and sat down on her side of the bed, taking her hair out of the ponytail that she had had it in. Her silhouette was surprisingly striking in an extremely simple manner. Then, acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary, she leaned over to Severus and kissed him softly on the lips.

"Good night, Sev." She then rolled over and shut the bedside lamp off. Against his better judgment, Severus curled up closely next to her, feeling a peculiar kind of freedom, as he laid an arm over her and whispered into her hair.

"Goodnight, Lily."

* * *

**Let me know what you think, please! And I've made a decision to make the relationship between Sirius and Severus a thousand times better. I all of sudden want them to be friends, so we're going to see what that does, but I can tell you it's not going to be an easy ride for either of them. I'm just tired of having to write fights between them. It would be so much easier if they could have friendly (I use that word lightly) banter and not the "teenage girl bitchiness" that we're used to. So, review, or don't review, whatever suits you lovely people!**

**-Morg (:**


	26. Chapter 26

**Moving, moving, and more moving. Plus school. That's been my life. So, as I desperately ask for your unwavering patience, here's the next chapter. Please, enjoy guys! (:**

**Disclaimer: I wasn't JK Rowling the last time I updated and, to my dismay, still not.**

* * *

Chapter 26

The next morning, the great hall was buzzing again with the chatter, post-holiday stories of both student and staff. All of the decorations had been removed and the normal routine of daily life at the school was coming back as quickly as it had gone. Lily, Severus, and Harry were seated in their normal seats at the staff table when the morning post came, which was mostly comprised of packages of different shapes and sizes, things that students had accidentally left at home over break and now their parents were sending back to them. As Lily took a bite of toast, a large brown owl with white patches swooped down, eliciting a giggle from Harry, and dropped a letter onto her lap.

"Hmm, I wasn't expecting anything." Said Lily, who usually got post around mid-afternoon.

"Who's it-" But Severus was cut off by Lily's answer.

"It's from Remus!" She said cheerily as she tore it open and began to read:

_Dear Lily,_

_I hope you've been well and that your holidays were good. I feel bad that I didn't see you and Harry, but as you know, I wasn't feeling "well". It's been so long since we've talked and I'd really like to catch up soon. If it's no trouble, could we possibly have dinner at The Three Broomsticks this evening? Say 6:00? Please, let me know if you can soon! See you around!_

_Yours,_

_Remus_

As Lily finished reading, Severus glanced over slightly, ready to hear what he wanted.

"He wants to have dinner tomorrow night. Oh, it'll be so nice! We haven't really gotten the chance to talk much since James' funeral." Lily said as she finished her breakfast.

"Well, that's very nice, but do you have a babysitter?" Severus said being completely serious. Lily froze, just assuming that he would watch Harry, and then turned to face him.

"I just thought- I mean if- Well, you-" Even though his face was hidden, Lily could see the small smirk forming and she playfully hit him on the shoulder,"Sev, you're ridiculous."

He chuckled in response. "How am I being ridiculous? I'm not the one who's assuming things."

Lily just shook her head as she stood and up and brushed crumbs off of Harry's shirt, getting ready to head to her first class.

"So, _will_ you watch Harry?"

"I'm not answering that. Have a good afternoon." He said as he swiftly left the great hall for his classroom.

Lily giggled to herself as she stood there with Harry in her arms. "Harry, never grow up to be like him. Please."

* * *

"So, can anyone tell me how to properly perform the seize and pull charm?" Lily said cheerily to her third-years. Not a single arm rose in to the air and they stared back at her with blank faces.

"No one?" Once again their blank stares answered her question.

"Have we really forgotten after our Christmas holiday? Well, that's quiet alright because we will be reviewing them like mad for the next few weeks. When you come of age you will find them to be extremely useful in your everyday life, I promise." She lectured as she flicked her wand and the specifics of the spell appeared upon the blackboard.

"Will they be on our OWLs?" A seemingly worried Ravenclaw boy piped up. Lily turned around and looked at him like he was slightly crazy, but, of course, if anyone would be worried about those tests now, it _would_ be a Ravenclaw.

"Mr. Hartly, your OWLs aren't for another two years. Why on Earth are you worrying about them now? Trust me; you'll have plenty of time for that later."

He was twisting his hands and shyly replied, "Well, Professor Snape said that if we didn't focus and learn everything now that we would surely fail our OWLs. I really don't want to fail my OWLs, Professor."

Lily sighed and then giggled slightly, "Is that why we're all so quiet today? Because you guys are worried about your OWLs?" The class collectively nodded.

"And Professor Snape told you this?" Again they nodded.

"Well, _forget_ what he said. As long as you do your work now, you will have absolutely no problems with your OWLs in a few years. I am also completely certain that you all _will_ pass them." The whole class seemed to ease up at her words, especially the Ravenclaw boy.

"And next time Professor Snape gets you guys all worked up about something silly like that, tell him to come straight to me. I'll sort him out." She smiled and a few of the students smiled back. They all were amused by that fact that Professor Potter was, in no way what so ever, intimidated by Professor Snape.

* * *

As evening fell upon the castle, Lily was in her room going through things to wear to her dinner with Remus. As she was busy fixing her shirt in the mirror, Severus appeared at the doorway.

"Harry and I are heading up to dinner."

"Okay." Lily said absentmindedly. She was still fretting over clothes.

"Lily, you look fine." She sighed, grabbed her wand, and changed her sweater from green to white.

"There that's better."

Severus laughed at her admittance of contentedness.

"Alright, well now that you've got yourself sorted, have a great time and send a patronus if anything goes wrong." He said with a tone of protectiveness.

"Oh, will you quit worrying. We're only going to The Three Broomsticks."

"Yes, but it's…_Lupin._" Lily eyed him threateningly, conveying to him that he shouldn't mention anything more.

As Severus carried Harry up to dinner he walked Lily to the doors of the castle where she said goodbye and headed off to Hogsmeade. The grounds were covered in an even layer of snow that glistened in the moonlight and her breathe rose in white plums against the frigid air. She shivered as she left the castle gates and disapparated directly outside the pub. She was thankful for the immediate warmth that came over her when she entered and she scanned the tables for Remus. She saw him at a corner table, looking remarkably better than he been the last time she had seen him. He noticed her entrance and waved. Lily smiled and waved back as she weaved her way between dozens of wizards and witches. When she reached the table, he stood up and enveloped her in a hug.

"How are you, Lily?" He said softly.

"Cold." She joked as she unwound her scarf and placed it on her chair.

He laughed genially, "I thought you might be. I ordered butterbeers." He motioned towards the bottles on the table, which Lily thanked him for and took a sip of hastily.

"Why's it so crowded?" Lily asked as she looked at all the people packed into the fairly small pub.

"Dunno. Suppose just a bunch of people and their mates. So, how goes the teaching job?"

"Oh, I really love it. I'm so glad I've gotten to do it."

"Do you think you'll do it as a permanent job?"

"I think so. Have to bring in galleons somehow."

Remus flashed a smile, "I don't think you'll run out of those too quick."

Lily giggled and took another sip, "The Potter fortune won't last forever. Anyways, I try not to use too much of it. As long as I make my own money, I like to stay away from that part of our vault."

"I see. So-" Remus was cut off by the door of the pub opening in flurry of snow and a new patron in a black cloak stepping in. He and Lily shot questioning glances at each other and then watched as the wizard, and witch who had followed, lowered their hoods. Of all the people to step into The Three Broomsticks, this one might have been one of the worst. It was Lucius Malfoy and his wife, Narcissa.

"Just my luck." Lily said under her breath to Remus. He nodded, but didn't take his eyes off of the Malfoys as they strode over to a table, two down from them.

"Just ignore them." Remus said as he finished off his butterbeer.

"Oh, I intend to." But as Lily said this, she couldn't help but notice that that was exactly what the Malfoys were _not _doing. They kept chancing glances over at Lily and she knew immediately that they were talking about her. She was brought out of her thoughts by the waitress coming over and asking for their orders.

"I'll be back in a second; I just need to use the loo." Remus excused himself and Lily was left alone. She couldn't deny that it made her feel vulnerable. For the first time that night her thoughts wandered to Severus. _I wish he was here. He'd keep Lucius and his disgusting wife at bay._ Lily's stomach dropped as she heard the pushing out of chairs and footsteps that gradually became louder over the din of voices. _No, no, no. If I keep my head down they won't come over. They aren't coming over. Please, no._

"Hello there, Mrs. Potter." The drawling voice of Lucius Malfoy resonated through Lily's ears as she turned around to greet him.

"Mr. Malfoy, Mrs. Malfoy." She nodded cordially to both of them. She remained completely collected on the outside, but under the surface her insides had gone completely cold and her throat seemed to be swelling.

"How have you been?" Lucius said with a twisted smile. Naricssa simply stood there rigidly, as if she was afraid that she would do something wrong in front of her husband.

"I've been well. And you?"

"Getting along I suppose. So tell me, is it safe to be in the company of _that_?" He nodded towards Lupin's vacated seat. His reference to Remus was laced with contempt and malice.

"Oh, Remus- He's-" At that moment, Narcissa had moved her hand and knocked Lily's scarf off of the chair. Both women bent down to pick it up and as Lily was eye level with the floor she noticed a jerky movement Lucius made towards Remus's seat.

"My apologies." Narcissa said with an empty kindness. Lily waved it off, telling her no worries. The door to the bathroom started to open and right on cue Lucius spoke.

"Well, we must be off. We've gotten a new nanny that Draco hasn't really taken to yet. See you around." Lucius held out his hand which Lily shook quickly. As they exited the pub Remus sat down and eyed them leaving. A wave of relief flooded Lily. She was glad that their confrontation was over.

"What did that filthy git want?"

"Nothing really. But Remus-" Lily exclaimed hurriedly. Lupin stopped with his drink halfway to his lips. "Don't drink that."

"Why?" He asked worriedly.

Lily sighed, "I don't know. I just have a funny feeling Malfoy did something to it. He asked me if it was safe hanging around you. I know what he was insinuating." Remus slowly set down his bottle and clasped his hands together. Lily was still unnerved from all that had happened and without thinking, grabbed her own bottle, finishing off the last bit of it.

"So, how's Harry- LILY!" Remus yelled as Lily slid from her chair, the bottle in her hand rolling across the floor.

"LILY! LILY, CAN YOU HEAR ME? SOMEONE HELP!" He was holding her head up trying to get her to wake up. Everyone in the pub fell silent and Madame Rosmerta quickly ran over to them.

"What's happened!?"

"I don't know! One minute she was fine and now…Oh, no, please, no…" Lupin was muttering to himself as he checked for a pulse. It was extremely slow and her breathing was deathly shallow. His mind was racing with what might have happened till he came to a plausible conclusion. _She was poisoned._

"We need to get her up to the castle! NOW!" Remus roared, completely out of the ordinary for how he usually was. He knew only one thing and that was that she needed Dumbledore, quickly. The people cleared a path for the door as Lupin carried her limp body in his arms. He disapparated to the castle gates and melted a patch of snow from the ground. He laid her down gently and sent a hasty patronus up to the castle. The seconds seemed like hours as he waited for a reply. He sat crouched next to Lily, holding her hands and trying to keep them warm. After what felt like an eternity, he saw Severus racing down the snow covered grounds with Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Madame Pomfrey right behind him. Snape blasted open the gates and roughly shoved Remus away from Lily's body.

"LILY!" Severus yelled as he picked her up exactly as Remus had. At this point her face was pale and her lips were turning a deep shade of purple. None of which were reassuring signs. Severus' mind worked quickly and he knew exactly what she needed.

"ACCIO BEZOAR!" He exclaimed in a tone of pure panic. In a matter of seconds a bezoar flew into Severus' hand and he, quickly, but gently, slid it into her mouth. He was breathing quickly as he checked her wrist for a quickening pulse and looked up at the other teachers. They stood watching the entire scene in absolute concern, but knew that while Severus was there, they really couldn't do much. Lupin had stood up, but was still covered in snow from being pushed. Everyone waited in silence for something to happen.

"No, Lily, don't do this…" Severus whined desperately, willing her to wake up.

Remus slowly walked over, "I don't know what-" But Severus rounded on him instantly. Brandishing his wand form his robes.

"YOU! YOU FILTHY, IRRESPONSIBLE, BE-"

"Severus!" Dumbledore called, as McGonagall was now crouched next to Lily. She was coughing harshly and her eyes were opening. Remus exhaled as Severus forgot all about him and pulled Lily to him.

"Lily, Lily, can you hear me?" Severus said in a much different tone than the one he had just used moments before.

"Sev?" She said raspily. Her face was gaining a little color and her lips were now only slightly bluish.

"Yes, I'm right here." He whispered.

"Severus, we should take her up to the hospital wing. To find out what happened." Dumbledore suggested softly.

"Well, we bloody know what happened! She was poisoned!" He said harshly as he picked her up, despite being able to levitate her, and the group headed up to the castle. The students were already in bed, so the corridors to the hospital wing were completely clear. Severus gently laid her down on the bed, as if she would shatter at the slightest touch. Madame Pomfrey had already summoned a cocktail of restoring potions. She tried to shoo Severus away but he kept his hand firmly clasped with Lily's. Remus timidly went up to the foot of the bed.

"I don't know what happened."

"I DON'T-" Severus started but Dumbledore hushed him up.

"We need to let him explain." It seemed to take all Severus had to contain himself, but he listened to what Lupin had to say.

"We had just ordered our food and I had gone to use the loo. While I was in there, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy had come up and talked to Lily. Or so she told me when I came back. I don't know exactly what all was said, but Lily said she thought she'd seen Malfoy do something to my drink and that he'd been acting funny. Next thing I knew, she'd taken a sip of her own drink and was on the floor like…" He drifted off as his voice shook. "Please, I didn't do anything. I feel horrible as it is. That this happened while she was with me."

Everyone in the room looked at each other except Severus who had shut his eyes and sighed deeply. _Malfoy. It would be fucking Malfoy. Why the hell was in there tonight?! He's going to sorely regret ever going near Lily._ Severus thought as pure hatred rose up inside him. In that moment, he felt like using every curse and every hex on the Malfoys. He, in fact, wanted to find them right then and there and finish them off like they almost did Lily.

"Severus, where is Harry?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"He's- He's in our quarters, sleeping."

"I'll go and check on him." McGonagall said solemnly and left quickly.

"I'm staying here tonight." Severus said shortly. It was obvious he wasn't going to be leaving her side.

"Remus, you may stay here tonight as well." Dumbledore offered to Remus. "Lily, will probably want to speak with you when she regains full consciousness."

"Thank you, sir." Lupin left the hospital wing with one last guilty look at Lily and Severus.

"Severus, are you alright?" Dumbledore asked quietly, but Severus simply stared worriedly at Lily as he rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. With that, Dumbledore slipped out the doors, much to Severus' pleasure. He summoned a chair and sat down in it, never letting go of Lily's hand. He softly brushed a lock of her hair away from her face.

"Lily, I'm so sorry this happened. If I'd been there- If I could have done something." He whispered as her features were illuminated by the delicate lamp light. Severus finally accepted sleep that night after many hours of restless thought. Thoughts that all led to one conclusion. Severus was going to find out where Lucius Malfoy was and he was going to make sure he got the hell he deserved.

* * *

**Yay for some drama! Please, review and let me know what you think! I truly appreciate it! As always, thank you for reading! (:**

**-Morg**


	27. Chapter 27

**Hey, guys! I really hoped you enjoyed the last chapter and I hope that this one clears up a couple of things! I also am working on a little Sev/Lily one shot that some of you may want to check out (it'd sort of be like one that I've already published). I apologize for that big hole I got myself into, where I was only updating once every two weeks. It made me soooo frustrated and hope to freaking God that that doesn't happen again! Anyways, enjoy and review, or hate and review, or whatever...**

**Disclaimer: Not J.K. Rowling, but could you imagine the shit she'd get from Jily shippers if I was?**

* * *

Chapter 27

In the early hours of the morning, Lucius Malfoy was pacing confidently in front of a large marble mantel piece. Hot embers still crackled inside, but Malfoy was fully dressed and, therefore, unaffected by the sometimes nagging cold that often permeated through the mansion. It was still quite dark outside, but sun light was just starting to peek out over the horizon. Narcissa was still in bed as well as Draco. An audible crack could be heard in the distance, even through the thick window pane, followed by a short dinging noise letting Lucius know that someone had entered the gates. Almost instantly, foot falls could be heard, creaking on the hardwood floor.

"So, you've done it?" Bellatrix said, drawing Malfoy's attention, as she glided into the room. "Do you know if it was successful?"

"There was no way of knowing. They were highly suspicious of us the moment we walked in, so we really couldn't linger."

"But long enough to slip her the poison?" Bellatrix said impatiently.

"Yes, of course."

"Good." Bellatrix sighed contentedly. "At least we are making progress. We need that filthy mudblood gone if we have any hopes of getting to the boy." She made herself comfortable on an ornate sofa in front of the fire. Lucius turned to face her, rolling his wand between his hands.

"So have you managed to round up any of the others?"

"Yea, a few. Yaxley and Greyback. They were more than happy to hear that we are continuing the Dark Lord's work. Avenging him in the best way possible."

"Excellent. Are they-?" But his words were silenced by the slight dinging of more visitors. Within seconds, Yaxley and Greyback were both in the sitting room.

"Alright, mate?" Greyback crooned as he slapped Lucius on the back. Lucius, however, looked slightly disgusted by Greyback's filthy hands and made a deliberate motion to wipe the grime off of his robes.

"I've been quite well. As you know, last night Narcissa and I carried out the first phase of our plan."

"Yes, would you mind explaining to us _what_ the plan is exactly?" Yaxley replied as he took a seat next to Bellatrix. "This one here wouldn't tell us."

Bellaxtrix's eyes narrowed at Yaxely, "I just didn't know if I could trust you. Didn't want to ruin what has just begun."

"Well, he does have the right to know as well as any others who plan to return to the Dark Lord's side."

"Return?" Greyback grunted. "I was unaware that any of us had really left. Unless we have people who really have renounced the old ways?"

"Well, we don't have any proof, but who knows what some of our less trusted Death Eaters have done in these months after the Dark Lord's fall." Lucius seemed pained to say the last few words.

"Deserve to be killed, the lot of 'em. Lying two-faced bastards." Greyback said, staring into the fireplace. Yaxley cleared his throat, reminding Malfoy to explain the plan.

"Yes, well. Bellatrix, Narcissa, and I have decided that we should carry out duties. _Honorable_ duties, even though we are slightly- disbanded. We know, for a fact, that the Dark Lord will return. When exactly, no one knows for sure, but when he does he'll be honored that we have stayed loyal and "tied up some loose ends". It would be a welcome back present of sorts."

"And what better way to start," Bellatrix piped up, "then with the two people that reduced the Dark Lord to nothing. The _Potters_." She said the name with wickedness. As if she could inflict injury to them by simply saying their name in a malicious manner.

Yaxley chuckled slightly, "Not much of a plan though. How long can it really take to kill a young woman and a baby?" Malfoy and Bellatrix both glared at him.

"If you haven't noticed, they are both currently residing at Hogwarts. Unless you'd like to walk up to the front door and give it a knock, asking for the Potter's, then I suggest you don't judge the difficulty of our plans." Malfoy said as he returned to his pacing.

"Well, what about Severus Snape?" Yaxley questioned.

"What about him?"

"He works at Hogwarts. He probably sees them every day. Why not have him finish them?"

"No. If the Potter's died at his hands, Dumbledore would not trust him anymore and then we would no longer have a spy. The Dark Lord would be extremely displeased. We can certainly carry out the deed without his help; of course, he's always an option if we need help with coordinating anything."

"So, let me get this straight. You want to murder the Potter's, starting with the mother and then working your way to the boy?"

"Indeed. After Lily Potter dies, the boy will have to leave Hogwarts and live somewhere else. Anywhere else is more convenient, for us, than that impenetrable fortress."

"I still think we should have kidnapped and tortured her a bit." Bellatrix said disappointedly. "She deserves much worse than just death."

"Yea," Greyback chuckled. "I could've had a bit of fun with her too. That mudblood is a fit one." He finished crudely. Lucius ignored his comment as he heard Draco start to cry from upstairs and Narcissa going into his room to calm him down.

"So, I suppose I'll be seeing you two rather soon, hopefully in the presence of more of the _right_ people? Our strength relies heavily on numbers now." Malfoy said as both Yaxley and Greyback nodded and headed for the door. They exchanged goodbyes and when Lucius returned to the sitting room, Narciss sat opposite her sister on the couch and they were both talking about last night.

"When will we get any news?" Narcissa asked just as impatiently as her sister had done, although, her impatient tone seemed to carry another quality to it. Something that sounded like fear mixed with anxiousness.

"I can't be sure."

"You don't think people will suspect us?"

"How could they? The place was packed with people that were there only because we told them to be. There were actually only a few people there that were legitimate innocent bystanders, probably too drunk to notice us anyways." Lucius words were true. He had told a few of his lesser known friends that he needed to do a job at The Three Broomsticks and they obliged. He hoped that these people would create blockades to prevent actual customers from seeing him and his wife approach Lily Potter. Narcissa sighed heavily as the thought of getting caught and going to Azkaban weighed heavily on her mind.

"Besides, it's our word or the word of the filthy Werewolf that she was with. Now who's going to be taken more seriously in this case?" Lucius said trying to calm his wife.

The three of them sat in anticipating silence as they waited for the arrival of the Daily Prophet, hoping that somewhere in it, a page would be graced with an announcement of the shockingly unexpected death of Lily Potter.

* * *

It was hardly sunrise and Severus had been summoned to Dumbledore's office. It took some pleading on Dumbledore's part to get Severus to leave Lily, but eventually he stressed the importance of their meeting and convinced him to show up. Severus strode down the corridor, his neck aching from sleeping slouched in a wooden chair. He had gotten little sleep for he had woken up almost every half hour to check that Lily was still there and that her heart was still beating. He ascended the staircase to the headmaster's office and without preamble, sat down in his usual chair.

"Has she woken up yet?" Dumbledore sat with his hands folded in front of him. It was obvious that he also hadn't slept at all, though he tried not to show it.

"No. She hardly moved at all, actually. What about Harry? Is he awake? I can go get him if Minerva-"Dumbledore raised a lazy hand to stop him and smiled, for only a split second, at Severus' immediate concern for Harry.

"Don't worry. Minerva returned to her chambers an hour ago and Lupin is with Harry now." Dumbledore's tone regained its seriousness and Severus sat back in his chair again.

"I called you up here to discuss the course of action we should take in regards to the Malfoys." Severus' head was in his hand, but permeate shot up instantly at the name. Rage seemed to flood his stomach and he felt like letting out a string of curses.

"More importantly, I need to discuss with you, your plans on revenge, which, I'm sure you've already made?"

"I want to kill them."

"Well, you can't do that."

"Well, it doesn't matter if I can. I will."

"No, you most certainly won't."

"Are you going to stop me?"

"Yes, in fact, I must insist that you not go after them at all."

Severus stared at the headmaster with his mouth hanging open slightly. _Was he serious? Does he actually think that I'd be obliging to just lie down and take what the Malfoys did to Lily? She came this close to dying and if she had…_

"I know it's an unsatisfactory course of action."

"Mostly because there is none." Severus shot back.

"But you retaliate against Malfoy now and you are facing a backlash of epic proportion, from loyal Death Eaters, friends of the Malfoys, and, in time, Voldemort himself." Dumbledore still sat rigid, as if to keep solidity on the situation. Severus, however, was getting angrier and angrier the more he listened to Dumbledore's words.

"Ok, that makes _perfect_ sense. The Malfoys attacked Lily, WITH INTENT TO KILL, and they won't get backlash from any one, not me, not you, not the Order, but if _I_ were to attack _them_? Now all of a sudden you think I'm facing absolute outrage from those close to the Malfoys!"

"Severus, please, understand."

"I'm trying! But you don't realize how close I was to losing the only thing that means anything! How close Harry came to being an orphan!" Severus was now pacing angrily in front of the headmaster's desk. Dumbledore took the short silence to further explain.

"When the Malfoys attacked Lily, they had nothing to lose. They already know that you, and I, and the Order, are not friendly to them by any means, but even though we disapprove of them, they know that we won't directly hunt them down. It's not our way of doing things-" Severus opened his mouth to comment, but Dumbledore shushed him, "But, if you were to attack them, we'd have _a lot_ to lose and hardly anything to gain. We'd lose you as a spy, which we can't afford to do. We'd lose our precious advantage and that makes all the difference."

"Way to make me feel needed-"

"Needed? Severus you are very needed. By every witch and wizard against Voldemort, by me, by the Order, and by no one more than Lily. Just, please, don't do anything yet. Your chance to even the score will come in due time." Severus just nodded as the whole situation at hand was brought into a broader perspective. His hate and fury for the Malfoys had clouded his view of what his every action would mean. He hated to admit that Dumbledore was right, but he was.

"I promise." Severus said quietly as he turned and swept out of the room. Once outside he laid his head against the cool stone wall and shut his eyes, embracing the silence and solitude. Lack of sleep, anger, and worry all seemed to be swirling in a terrible mixture through his mind and body. Somehow a world without the Dark Lord, no matter how temporary, seemed better than how it was actually turning out to be. _It's like the psychotic bastard never even left._


End file.
